not2old2tri

“Yumminess”

2012-01-22T16:32:00.001-08:00

Coach MB’s favorite word to describe our strength training/cycling work-outs is “yummy.” Nothing about these work-outs, however, fits the dictionary definition of the word. They are not “tasty,” “delectable,” or “delicious.” Unless, of course, you like torture. Although indoor cycling is one of my favorite training activities, three months into the pre-season, I’ve had about all the “yumminess” I want. The past month has been particularly tough as we have focused on power sprints – pedaling furiously in our hardest gear while seated for 10-15 seconds, alternating with pedaling slightly less furiously while seated, or standing, still in hardest gear, followed by a brief recovery in an easier gear. We do these sets repeatedly for most of the hour-long session, while M. reminds us how “yummy” they are.

I know these work-outs are good for me, even though each sprinting segment seems at least twice as long as it is and “four easier gears” is a distant promise. Last year, my first outdoor ride after pre-season ended was considerably faster than a ride around the same course had been six months before. The agony of all those power sprints, jumps, and other drills were worth it. So, come March, having endured so much “yumminess,” I expect to appreciate just how truly luscious it was.

Another Year, and Still Trying to Tri

2012-01-13T15:55:00.000-08:00

When I signed up to do my first triathlon ten years ago I don’t think I expected I’d still be doing them now, but, what do you know, I am contemplating another triathlon season. First on my agenda is the Smithfield Sprint on March 31, followed by an 8K run in Williamsburg on May 19, and then maybe other triathlons in June, August, and/or September. I hope my years of training, which have made me a better athlete, will counteract my advancing age, so that while there may not be any PRs, I can at least complete the race.

Waiting for ???

2011-09-05T08:56:00.000-07:00

After months of training, I’m starting to see some improvement in my swimming and running as I’ve gotten faster at shorter distances. While that’s a good thing, I’m leery of thinking it will continue, as I’ve been in this same place before – and optimism about my level of performance succumbed to injury. None of the injuries were related directly to training, however. Two years ago, I stepped off the edge of a sidewalk and broke a bone in my left foot. Last year I turned to pick up a suitcase and twisted my back. It seems as though whenever I think I’m getting “up to speed,” something happens, so I’m wondering – what will it be this year?

In The Pink

2011-09-05T08:53:00.001-07:00

Two weeks ago (blame delay in posting on Irene!) a friend and I did the Pink Power Triathlon as a relay. She did the bike leg and I did the swim and the run. This was my only actual tri for the year – I enjoy the training, but dislike paying the ever-increasing entry fees for the events. However, the PP has good camaraderie and cute swag – this year’s socks were a special bonus, so I signed up. Overall, I was pleased with our performance. My swim was a few seconds slower than last year, but my run was a few minutes faster. My friend did well on the bike course, although a glitch in the timing added the transition times to the bike segment and skewed her ride time to seem longer than it was because speedy transitions are not our forte. The absolute best part, though, was seeing my daughter at the finish line. She lives in Maryland, and I hadn’t known she was coming. She’d been lurking in the area all morning, waiting to surprise me. As they say, our smiles were priceless.

Adiós, Coach D.

2011-06-18T09:01:00.000-07:00

The coach of the UR Masters Swim program has taken another job at a college in Texas. D. had been our coach for the past two years. Our group included excellent, competitive swimmers and other people, like me, who mostly swim for fun and fitness. D. offered us all motivation and encouragement. Under her tutelage, I improved my freestyle stroke enough to take minutes off my tri pool swim times. I also learned to do butterfly and flip turns. Of course, I wish D. well in her new position, but she’ll be missed.

Hill Thrill

2011-05-30T05:40:00.000-07:00

On Sunday morning I rode my bike near Osborne Landing. A friend and I discovered this ride two years ago, as part of it is the same as the Rockett’s Landing triathlon course. We like the route because it has less traffic than West Creek and more variety. Sunday’s ride was the first for this year, and my goal was to do better than last year at keeping up with my friend, who is a good rider, even when she doesn’t train much.

So, as we started, I was pleased that I could almost match her pace. Last year she waited patiently at intersections for me to catch up. This year, I was close enough she didn’t have to wait as long. But after a few miles, suddenly, she was a red dot in the distance – just like last year. I pedaled hard to catch up. When I found her again, and commented on her burst of speed, she said she’d had some trouble at the beginning of the ride getting into her big chain ring. For the next several miles, we stayed within shouting distance, as long as I went nearly as fast as I could and she did not.

Then we came to a hill – not a particularly big hill, but one that was difficult for me last year. And an amazing thing happened – I passed my friend on the way to the top. Of course, she soon flew by me again, but I’d had my tiny moment of glory. Hurray for that hill!

Just the Facts, Ma’m

2011-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

These days my mailbox is filled with information about applying for Medicare – a not so cheerful reminder that in a mere few months I’ll be eligible. I had thought I’d mark that “milestone” by doing an Olympic distance triathlon, but as the tri season has begun and I’ve not registered for any event, it seems less likely I’ll do that race. The fact is that even though my swimming and biking have improved, and my running is starting to get better, I’m just not fast enough to finish an Olympic race in the time the organizers have allotted. If I did each segment in my best possible time, I might finish within seconds of the 4-hour limit, but a perfect race is not likely to happen. And I don’t want to pay for the disappointment of a DNF, which would only remind me how old I am. I plan to keep training, though, and maybe I’ll still go for it. But the fact is, I may stay a “sprinter,” and I can mark moving into my new age group by a PR for that distance.

An Encouraging Ride

2011-03-06T10:49:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I rode my bike outside for the first time since last September. Given my propensity for falling on the road, I approached this ride with trepidation, as I much prefer riding indoors safely ensconced on a stationary trainer. Triathlons, however, are held outside, so I pumped up my tires and bravely pushed off down my street.

My usual neighborhood ride is 10-12 miles. Anything longer requires too many loops over the same territory (and too many barking dogs as I pass by) or venturing onto busier streets. There are a few small inclines, but mostly the route is flat. A disadvantage, however, is having to pause at intersections to check for traffic. Usually there isn’t any, but I slow down just in case.

Other than an unexpected gust of wind that I thought might topple me, the ride went well. I focused on proper pedal strokes, judicious gear shifting, and cadence. To my surprise, the ride felt almost easy, even fun. And, when I finished, I was pleased to note my ride time was seven minutes faster than last year on the same route.

I attribute this improvement to the past four months of intense indoor cycling under the tutelage of Coach E. I’m determined this year to maintain my bike fitness by riding regularly – inside or outside – after indoor cycling ends next week.

Joyful Numbers

2011-02-17T19:18:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was body composition day at MMF. Based on individual weight and measurements taken with a special kind of pinchers, a computer program generates a fat/muscle ratio. I had this same assessment done six months ago, and I wasn’t pleased with the results. Compared to an assessment done several years ago, not only did I weigh more than I wanted to, I’d gained 1.5 pounds of fat for every 1 pound of muscle. Since last August, I’ve tried to focus on better nutrition, curb my fondness for ice cream, and maintain a constant level of fitness activities. My scale told me I was losing some weight, but I still wasn’t sure what to expect from Saturday’s test. The results, however, were good. Three pounds of fat was gone.

Then on Monday at Masters Swim, we had to swim 25 yards freestyle without taking a breath, or at least taking as few breaths as possible. I figured, based on past experience with the same drill, and the fact that I usually breathe every other stroke, I would have to breathe 4 or 5 times. I was elated then to take only one breath, probably at the 12-15 yard mark.

Remembering an old General Electric slogan – “Progress Is Our Most important Product” – I give a shout-out to Coaches E. and D. – Thanks for all those intense cycling and swimming work-outs. The results are in the numbers.

You Know You're Old When ...

2011-01-23T12:55:00.000-08:00

*You hear news stories commemorating events that happened 50 years ago and recall those events "like they were yesterday."
*You celebrate "wogging" a mile in 13:54.
*You buy dress pants with elastic waistbands because they fit your shape better than the dropped-waist kind, foregoing a promise once made to not wear "old lady pants" in public.

Getting Ready

2011-01-15T14:43:00.000-08:00

A new year, a new race season. I like to start each year filled with optimism about improving my performance and setting PRs, but this year, my expectations are lower. Plagued most of last fall by defective body parts subject to chronic minor injuries, I just want to be able to cross the finish line without really hurting myself.

My daughter and I have registered for the Monument Avenue 10K – she’s aiming for 10-minute miles; I’ll settle for 14. I’ve become a “wogger.” (I saw the term in a running magazine.) Whether it’s defined as “a walker who occasionally jogs,” or “a jogger who mostly walks,” it fits my current “running” style. Not counting the miles I logged around shopping malls and parking lots while acquiring items for the families my office sponsored, gifts for my own family and friends, and finally, after-Christmas sale bargains, it’s been several months since I did any serious running. So, I’m starting slowly, one or two miles a week, and working on maintaining a respectable pace for short segments.

Swimming is my sport of choice this year because it’s the one sport in which my skill level has not declined as much with age. In fact, I’m a better swimmer now than I was several years ago. I’ve enrolled in an adult swim clinic at UR, in addition to the Master’s swim class, which means I’m in the pool at least three times a week. I might even enter a swim meet – something I’ve never done.

I’m not sure what triathlons I’ll do this year. The Hy-Vee Olympic in Des Moines, Iowa on September 4 is tempting, especially if my daughter decides to do it, too. As preparation, I’m thinking about a triathlon in June in either Tidewater or Maryland. Both offer distances that are longer than a sprint and shorter than an olympic, plus an open water swim. I’m beginning to think I’m a triathlon short-timer, so if I don’t do an Olympic distance this year, I may never accomplish it. Many of the races have time limitations now, and because I’m not speedy, I’m not sure I can finish in the allotted time. But for now, I’m keeping an Olympic on my schedule.

2011?

2010-12-15T19:28:00.000-08:00

I'd planned to swim tonight, but after a trip to the store for cat food, I decided it was too cold to go anywhere but back to the cozy comforts of home. Once there, I read a personal essay about a woman who did her first Ironman at age 70. She began her IM training plan four years earlier, when she was slightly older than I am now. As heartwarming as her story was, it hasn't inspired me to attempt the same feat. My daughter and I have discussed doing the Hy-Vee Olympic in Iowa in September 2011, and if we do, it will be the acme of my triathlon life. With that goal in mind, I'm considering events on the 2011 calendar -- the Monument 10K in April and a tri in June that's longer than a typical sprint and shorter than a usual olympic. There's also a 5K in February that looks promising -- because it's in Florida, where it should be warm, and sunny, and "snowless." Maybe that's the incentive I need to get past winter-induced inertia and into a new tri season.

A Different Kind of Marathon

2010-09-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

When I woke up today (correction – when my cat woke me up), I thought the plan was to ride my bike or go for a run before I started cleaning house. But at 5:45 a.m. (the cat apparently forgot it was Saturday), it was still dark outside, so I decided to get started on my cleaning projects. All summer I’ve subscribed to the “a lick and a promise” method of cleaning – “lick” down the cat hair and “promise” to do better next time. However, I have company coming on Tuesday, so I knew I had to get out the big girl mop. Both of my sisters are cleaning fanatics, and one of them even likes to clean house, but, unfortunately, Mrs. Clean was not available to assist me.

Fortified by a cup of left-over coffee and some toast, I started with the guest bath. I washed the curtains, the rugs, and the floor. Then I moved on to the guest bedroom – more curtains to wash. Since my guest room is also a repository for items that belong to family and friends, but they have no place else to store, I decided I needed to do some re-arranging so my guests would have a spot for their suitcases. I moved the rocking chair to my home office, put the recliner back together so someone could actually sit in it, took some books to the garage, and put the extra pillows in my closet. By then, it was fully daylight, but I was into high cleaning mode and decided to postpone the bike ride/run until later in the day.

I ate a spoonful of peanut butter for energy and tackled the kitchen cupboards. Soon my garbage can was filled with out-dated spices, hard-as-rocks colored sugar, tubes of decorator frosting, and other sundries my sister gave me three years ago because she didn’t want to move them to her new house or throw them away and she thought I could use them. Perhaps I would have, if I still baked cakes and cookies, but that was in a past life.

The next project was my porch. I emptied pots of weeds, swept up nails and other trash the roofers left behind when they installed the new roof last week, and wiped off the furniture.

Back inside, I dusted every knick knack, scrubbed two more bathrooms, and cleaned out the litter box. With my chores about two-thirds done, I was starting to hit the wall. Opting for a lunch break, I was surprised to discover it was 2:00 p.m. Considering what else I had to do in the house, the possibility of a bike ride/run later seemed unlikely. And my body felt like it had already logged those miles, anyway.

After lunch, I finished dusting the furniture and baseboards and vacuumed. If everything wasn’t covered with cat hair, this wouldn’t have been such a hard task, but the two critters that share my house are the hairiest “domestic shorthair” cats I know. I’ve tried all sorts of ways, with varying success, to “de-hair” my house, but I think attempting to qualify for Boston might come easier for me. And even though my visitors like cats, too much cat hair is still annoying, so I persevered.

Final job – scrubbing the kitchen floor. I did it the old-fashioned way – on my knees. I’ve tried lots of mops, but the results just don’t satisfy me.

By 5:00 p.m., my house was as clean as it’s going to be, the last load of laundry was in the dryer, and I was ready for a glass of wine. Then I noticed the refrigerator handle was really grimy, so – like the final sprint to the finish line, I grabbed my scrubber and had at it. The pristine result was as good as a medal.

Jamestown Memories

2010-09-19T09:58:00.000-07:00

When my children were young, we used to camp at Jamestown Beach, next to the ferry landing, so the Patriot Sprint, which starts and ends at the old campground, is like a homecoming. As I walked along the beach shore on Saturday evening after picking up my race packet, I looked up the bluff to our favorite camping spot, now overgrown with brush. In my mind’s eye, though, my 4-year-old daughter was nimbly scooting down the hill to watch the Baptists or Methodists singing hymns on the beach – and then was escorted back to our campsite after the service by a kindly church member, who was no doubt horrified to find the sweet child’s father drinking a beer.

The next morning, as I considered the river in the rain, I would have liked to been tucked snugly in our old camper instead. The water temperature was 74°, so wet suits were allowed. Despite the buoyancy a wet suit offers, I tend to feel like I’m choking in it. Hoping to alleviate this problem, earlier this year I purchased wet suit no. 3 –in a larger size and different style. The suit felt okay on dry land, but the Patriot swim would be its “christening.” My other problem with a wet suit is that getting it off after the swim eats up my time in T1, but I don’t swim well at all in chilly water, so I opted to wear it.

Probably, though, I should have gone without the wet suit because the water did not feel cold and my neoprene-swaddled body didn’t seem tethered to my naked arms. I made more progress kicking on my back than actually swimming. I silently agreed with a fellow swimmer who said, “Well, wet suits suck.” I kept aiming for the yellow buoy where we were supposed to turn, but it seemed like the distance between it and me stayed the same. I noticed that some swimmers who had started in the groups behind me were already turning toward shore, without having passed the buoy. Then I heard someone in a boat telling swimmers to turn because the buoy had come loose. I’m not sure how much out of the way I went, but I do know I’m not a fan of open water swimming.

The distance from the beach to the transition area was a hike through a grassy field. I struggled a bit with getting my left foot out of my wet suit, but still my T1 time was 16 seconds less than the maximum possible time I’d estimated.

I rode the bike course in exactly the same time as two years ago, which was disappointing because I’d expected to be faster on my new bike. Or, maybe I should spin it this way – I’m just as fast as I was, even though I’m two years older. I think I needed my bike pal KG riding ahead of me as incentive.

The run course took us through another grassy field at the beginning and end, with a paved trail in the middle. My time was a little faster than other 5K runs I’ve done this year, but still slower than I’d hoped.

All in all, the event provided another good memory of Jamestown Beach. Because I was the only official entrant in my age group, I was awarded first place, albeit by default. Another competitor had a better time than I did, but she was registered in the novice category rather than age group. Whether I was first or second, though, the prizes were the same – a wine glass and a bottle of chardonnay from a local winery.

A Green & Pink Weekend

2010-08-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

Several months ago I ordered a new car – a 2011 Ford Fiesta hatchback, and I took possession last Saturday. So far, I’m generally pleased with it, although a visit to my local bike store was required to properly fit my old bike rack onto the new car. The car’s most unusual feature is its color – “metallic lime squeeze.” Yes, I have a car that looks like a lime. Because limes make me think of margaritas, and this car seemed like it should have a name, I considered calling it “Margy” or “Rita.” But then a friend referred to it as “Little Limeade,” and that may be the name that sticks. Of course, foregoing the lime theme, there’s “Dumpling,” because the car also resembles a Granny Smith apple.

The pink part of the weekend was the Pink Power Sprint on Sunday. It was also my birthday and my daughter’s present to me was that she came for the race, and did it. This is the first year she’s done triathlons, and it’s been fun to share the experience with her.

My specific goal for the race was to be faster than last year, and I was. My swim time would have been even better if I could have climbed out of the pool quicker, but I was pleased to see that a year of Master’s swimming has improved my performance.

The bike course didn’t seem as difficult as last year, and I took several minutes off my previous time, maybe because I have a different bike, I trained more, or both. Even so, I wasn’t able to catch up with my daughter, who was a few minutes ahead of me on the course. (We learned later that my actual ride time was about 20 seconds faster than hers, but she’s a better swimmer and was quicker in T1.)

C. and I had thought we might do the run together, but she started before I did and stayed about a half mile in front. My pace for the first two miles was on target, but mile 3 is the hilly part and I walked more than I should have. Even though my time was faster than last year, I was still disappointed to be slower than I’d expected. The final lap around the soccer field was great, though. C. had waited for me at the edge of the field so we could cross the finish line side by side.

Reflections

2010-08-08T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today I saw Autumn
Lurking in Summer’s shadow,
A bashful child,
Waiting her turn to play.

The sun was just rising yesterday when I began my bike ride around my neighborhood. I like to go out early to avoid traffic, but as I checked the time – 6:30 a.m. – I recognized, with regret, that summer is shifting into autumn. The demise of daylight signals the coming season, and it’s not one I welcome with much enthusiasm. Yes, 90° days will be gone, but 6:00 a.m. seems much earlier when it’s still dark outside.

Confession

2010-07-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

I have a new bike – a Specialized Ruby Pro. I got it a month ago, but since it cost more than a reasonable, normal person, especially one who is not a great biker, would spend on a bike (even though I got a good deal), and I could have returned it within 30 days for a full refund, I didn’t immediately announce my purchase, thinking perhaps I would come to my senses and take it back. However, the sweet thing is still in my garage, so it’s time to “fess up.”

The new bike fits me better than my old one did, it has upgraded components, and it’s lighter – all factors that make riding more enjoyable, even if I am only slightly faster than on my old bike. Each time I get a “new and improved” bike, I prove the truth of these words – A bike is only as fast as the person pedaling. But because presentation matters, on a bike as sleek as my Ruby, I at least can feel like an accomplished cyclist.

A Simple Secret

2010-07-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest difference. For years I’ve tried to learn flip turns, but the result was always some sort of weird sideways motion instead of a true flip. Observers said I didn’t keep my head down, so I tried envisioning my chin glued to my chest. It didn’t work – my head came up mid-flip, I listed to my side, and my feet missed the wall. Then my daughter told me she could do proper flip turns only with her eyes closed. When I mentioned this technique to my Masters swim coach, she gave me the kind of incredulous smile I give my younger sister when she says something stupid, but I know she means well. Of course, I should keep my eyes closed. So, I approached the wall, tucked my chin, squeezed my eyes shut, pulled my body forward and down – and over, landing my feet squarely on the wall. I pushed off and surfaced to “high fives” all around. I’d finally done a successful flip turn.

In A Minute

2010-06-09T18:27:00.000-07:00

While swimming with the TGs last Sunday, I accomplished a personal goal that has eluded me for sometime, and one that several years ago I would have thought improbable. I swam 50 yards in a minute. Now I know that’s still slow, but it’s 30 seconds faster than I used to be and 10-15 seconds faster than my usual pace now. Of course, after my “fast 50,” I felt like I was trying to swim in deep mud for the next 25, but then I recovered enough to do it again.

My Own “Tri Kids” and the Power Sprint

2010-05-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

One day last January my daughter told me she and her husband were thinking about training for a triathlon, which their fitness center in Maryland was sponsoring. The event was to be held indoors in April, and the participants had to swim in the pool, ride a stationary bike, and run on a treadmill for ten minutes at each station. Winners were determined by the distance accrued in each segment, and F took first place. After that experience C and F decided to try a “real” triathlon and signed up for the Power Sprint at the Shady Grove YMCA on May 23. Not to be left out, I registered for the AquaBike.

Saturday afternoon we checked out new bikes and gear at 3 Sports after we picked up our packets. F found his dream bike, and I saw one I could learn to like, but ever-practical C herded us out of the store before we spent $$$$. Saturday night we listened to the rain while C and I packed our transition bags and F cleaned and tuned his bike, a 30-year-old relic he bought with his first paycheck from his first job.

By Sunday morning the skies were clearing. We arrived at Shady Grove about 6 a.m. and found a great parking place behind the pool area. We unloaded our bikes and headed to the transition area to set up our spaces. C carefully arranged her helmet, shoes, and run number/race belt on her towel beside her bike – a model example of how to set up (and one she did not learn from her mother). We got our timing chips and body markings and then returned to the car for breakfast. A few minutes before transition closed, C noticed F was wearing his run number. We sent him scurrying back to leave it in transition.

Our predicted swim times were within a minute of each other. C was worried I’d overtake her on the bike since my start time was only several minutes behind hers. F swam faster than he’d thought he would and was finished before I got in the water. C’s time was exactly what she’d predicted. Mine was 30 seconds slower, but even so, I set a PR for that distance.

I set a different kind of PR in T1, as it was maybe my longest time in transition – ever, nearly as long as my swim time. I couldn’t get my helmet fastened. After struggling for several minutes, I heard a male voice behind me say, “Ma’am, you have you helmet on backwards.” I thanked him, turned the helmet around, and still couldn’t fasten it. Eventually, the straps snapped into place and I took off on the bike course.

While I was on my bike, I thought I was having a great ride. I maintained a decent speed – faster than my training rides around my neighborhood – and I even passed a rider who had passed me. When I saw my official time, though, I was disappointed not to have been faster.

I never saw C or F on the bike course – they were too far ahead. In fact, F completed the run as I came in on my bike. And his time would have been better if he hadn’t had to return to T2 for his race number, which he’d forgotten to put on. C crossed the finish line about 25 minutes later. They both enjoyed the race and are planning to do another tri at the end of June in Maryland. I plan to be there, too – have to keep this sport in the family!

Getting Reacquainted With My Bike

2010-05-06T17:53:00.000-07:00

The transition from indoor to outdoor cycling is difficult for me, as I much prefer riding my bike on a stationary trainer than on the real road, but triathlons are generally not done indoors, so … after a month of no biking at all, I’ve gotten my bike out of my garage and onto the street. Since Saturday, I’ve ridden three times around my neighborhood – a total of 20 miles, but since I didn’t fall once, and by ride no. 3, actually began to enjoy myself, I consider the ventures successful. Of course, I still have to master clipping both feet into the pedals, but even if that doesn’t happen, I’m feeling friendlier toward my bike.

A Lost Month

2010-05-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

My training log for April shows a dearth of activity – some strength training sessions, a few swims, one short run, and no cycling. I have a sort of excuse, I suppose, as for much of the month, I was out of town for work or out of state visiting family, but I fear I’ve lingered too long in “Slugville,” and it’s good to turn the page on April.

Another Season

2010-03-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

If I lived in my ideal world, this post would be about getting a PR in the Smithfield Sprint or the Monument Ave. 10K, both of which took place yesterday. In a less perfect world, I at least could say I participated. But, no, I wasn't at either event. I was home, wondering whether the strange, sort of rotten smell permeating my laundry room, or something else, has caused my laryngitis/bronchitis, and comtemplating why an injury nearly five months ago has me still sidelined. I think I should be "all better" by now, and the fact that I'm not has routed my mojo like KY took out WF in round 2 of this year's NCAA tournament (90 to 60, for the non-b'ballers). I don't want to be the stereotypical old person who constantly complains about her ailments, but they seem to have taken over my life. A new season is here, though, so it's time to get out of my rocker and tri.

Two Steps, One Step

2010-03-13T16:11:00.000-08:00

My return to running has been at tortoise-speed. Since mid-February, using the walk-run method, I’ve logged a mile, or a mile and a half, once a week. Even by my standards, the pace has been slow, but the point was simply to get accustomed to running again. Each week I’ve tried to run more and walk less, with varying success. Last Saturday, however, I decided I would attempt to run the first half-mile (five blocks) before I interspersed any walking. Surprised by the respectable pace at which I did the half-mile, I decided to try running the second half-mile, too. After three more blocks, I was starting to slow down, but I could see the stop sign ahead that marked my “finish line,” and I was determined to keep running. I got there, and only 20 seconds later than I would have if I’d stayed on my original pace. I doubt I could have run much farther, but I was elated to have that mile behind me. I had plans of two miles for the following Saturday.

Until Thursday. While doing split squats at strength training on Thursday night, my left foot/ankle started to hurt. I don’t know what I did to it, and it seemed better this morning, but I decided to forego cycling and running for RICE-ing. Hopefully, I won’t be “defeeted” for long.

Learning to Fly

2010-02-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

The butterfly stroke has always intrigued, and eluded, me. My childhood swim lessons – two weeks each summer at the small community pool – covered basic strokes only. I watched with awe whenever the pool manager’s children, both college students who had learned to swim elsewhere, occasionally did a length or two of butterfly. From observing them, I understood what the arms were supposed to do, but I couldn’t figure out the kick. Eventually, whenever I tried to butterfly, I did a sort of aborted breaststroke maneuver. It was neither pretty nor efficient for the ten feet or so I could manage it.

Last week in Masters class, though, those of us in the “baby” lane focused on proper butterfly technique. First, we concentrated on the kick. To keep my feet from going awkwardly awry, Coach D. said to visualize my big toes tied together tightly. After a few lengths I began to feel more “dolphin-like” as I undulated through the water. Next we added arms – one at a time, then both. I was more moth than Monarch, but I could fly.

Considering Spring

2010-02-21T16:51:00.000-08:00

As I was shoveling the last bits of snow off my sidewalk today (because I was tired of waiting for it to melt), I noticed my daffodils have started to grow. Those one-inch green shoots were the perfect tonic for my winter-battered psyche. Of course, the imminent arrival of Spring means no more excuses for the weather-induced inertia I’ve had for the past several months. I’ve been doing some indoor cycling, strength training, and swimming, but not with the same intensity as in past years. And I’ve just started to run again. I’d wanted to do the Smithfield Sprint on March 27, but I’m not ready for competition yet. Stuck in the depths of winter, I was wondering if I’d ever be ready, but, like my daffodils, it’s time to start blooming again.

Making “Ice Cream” from Ice

2010-02-06T06:33:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I’d planned a full slate of activities – indoor cycling followed by a few laps around the indoor track at UR and a massage on Saturday, swimming on Sunday. Plus, I wanted to go by an antiques mall where a friend has a booth, and I thought I’d check out some new bikes. The Specialized Ruby Expert got a good review in the latest issue of Bicycle. I test rode a Ruby Pro model in 2008 and liked it, but it was way out of my price range. The Expert is still more than I reasonably should pay for a bike, but it’s less than what some of my non-tri friends spend on exotic vacations and interior decorating, so I figured there was no harm in “just looking.” However, Saturday brought snow, lots of snow, and nothing I’d planned happened.

This weekend is shaping up the same way. The storm here doesn’t appear to be as bad as last weekend’s was, but it’s still cold, the roads are a mess, and since I really don’t have to go out, I won’t. Instead, I’ll try to find something constructive to do, like start on my taxes. Maybe my expected refund could be the start of a “new bike fund.”

Acclimations

2010-01-24T07:17:00.000-08:00

January has been a month of adapting to changes. Of course, there’s the ongoing recovery of my foot, as I strive to regain some of the fitness I used to have. And I’m making some progress – today I wore cycling shoes on both feet, clipped in and out on my trainer, and pedaled while briefly standing. I’ve returned to the Master’s swimming class at UR, and I’m wearing dressier shoes than sneakers to work.

Other changes have been bittersweet. With the swearing in of the new Governor and Attorney General last week, I said farewell to several co-workers who have taken new jobs and greeted a new boss and his staff. So far the transition has gone smoothly, but I do miss the tasty treats the mother of a former co-worker sent to the office on Monday mornings. Mrs. G. made delectable cinnamon coffeecake, brownies laced with extra chocolate, and the best-ever pumpkin bread.

One change was totally unexpected, however. Two weeks ago I came home to find my oldest cat, a purebred Himalayan who was nearly 15, dead under my bed. O. was sweet-natured and quite loveable, and I’d had her for nine years. I adopted her from a friend of a friend of my sister’s when her original owner married a man allergic to cats. Even though I miss O. snuggling next to me on the sofa, I have to admit there’s less cat hair on the furniture now that this is only a two-cat household.

A Long, Slow Way Back

2010-01-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Last Thursday my orthopedist pronounced my foot/ankle sufficiently healed to resume my regular fitness routine. It’s a good thing, too, because jeans that fit fine three months ago are now too snug to wear in public. I rode my own bike at cycling for the first time on Saturday morning. I couldn’t get a cycling shoe on my left foot because I was still wearing a brace, but it was the best ride I’ve had in weeks. Then I decided to try a short “walk/run” at the UR fitness center indoor track. Ten times around is a mile – I did five laps, two at a sort of running pace, in 8:40. A big WOW! That’s about my speed for the first 5K I ever did, with little training about ten years ago. Of course, it’s been nearly three months since I did any running, or even brisk walking, but it’s discouraging to be so very slow, again. I suppose I should be satisfied I could do the laps at all, but I’ve never been a very patient person when it comes to my own performance.

Housebound

2009-12-20T09:52:00.000-08:00

My foot has finally recovered enough that getting from the locker room to the pool, and back again, no longer seems like an impossible feat, so I’d decided to try swimming this weekend. But, alas, 11 or so inches of snow has foiled my plan. The main roads may be clear today, but my driveway is not, and there’s still the pool parking lot to navigate. About the last thing I need to do is fall and break something else! So, my return to swimming has been postponed. I’m about a half mile short of my revised, as of mid-November, “distance swum” goal for 2009. Of course, under normal circumstances, those few yards would be accomplished easily; but the longer I’m away from the pool, the more daunting they become. And the weather just makes it easier to be like a bear and hibernate.

New Shoes

2009-12-05T10:40:00.000-08:00

The big boot in which my left foot and lower leg have been encased for the past three weeks has been replaced with a smaller ankle brace that is designed to be worn with regular shoes. It’s certainly less cumbersome than the three-pound boot, but I had no shoes, except an old pair of bedroom slippers, that I could comfortably fit my foot into with the brace on. Since I doubted I could wear the slippers every day for the next six weeks, I had to go shoe shopping. I figured a slightly larger size in a wide width would work. When I entered the store, I expected to find an array of wide size shoes in their own special corner -- after all, women’s clothes are organized that way, but I soon discovered that while wide sizes were marked with a green “W” on the box, they were mixed in with all the other sizes, according to style. I also learned there were not many wide shoes in small sizes. If only I wore a 9, or a 12, instead of a 6. And since I was at a discount store, there were no helpful clerks to facilitate my search, but eventually I found some pseudo “running” shoes to try on. Of course, the companion shoe for my right foot was much too big, so I decided I should buy a second pair in my regular size so my feet would match. I didn’t really care what my feet looked like, but I was concerned walking would be more difficult with different type shoes on each foot, and they were on sale. Then I had to search for that pair. There weren’t any in my actual size, however, so I compromised with a half-size larger that’s a little long in the toe, but seems to fit okay otherwise.

The best thing about having shoes on both feet again is that riding a stationary bike is much easier. I cycled twice last week wearing my boot, managing an average speed of about 6 mph – 4 mph with both feet, 8 mph right foot only. Today, my pedal strokes were much smoother and I averaged 10-12 mph with both feet. That I soon might be riding my own bike on a trainer seems much more possible.

Considering 2010

2009-12-05T10:38:00.000-08:00

Race schedules for 2010 have been announced, and there are a plethora of events to choose from. I could do one triathlon a month – maybe one a week – between March and October if I wanted to, but I think I’ll aim for 3-4 Sprints, starting with the Smithfield Sprint on March 27, and 1 Olympic. Set-up has eliminated the Patriot Olympic in September, but they’ve added a new Tidewater Olympic in June that will take place in the Buckroe Beach/Fort Monroe area of Hampton. My other option for an Olympic is Rockett’s Landing in July, but I don’t relish having to swim in that part of the James.

Keeping On

2009-11-18T15:23:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, my dad had emergency surgery, and there were complications during his recovery. Shortly after he left the hospital, he rented his crop land to a neighbor and sold his beef cattle and thoroughbred horses. When I suggested he perhaps was being too hasty in his decision, he said there hadn’t been much to do while lying in his hospital bed but think about how it was time for him to quit farming.

As I’ve hobbled around with some difficulty for the past 10 days with my broken foot in its boot, and spent more hours than usual sitting, I’ve contemplated whether it’s time for me to quit my training regimen. One of the scarier aspects of being injured is that it points out a disadvantage of living alone. Friends and co-workers have been very helpful, but I don’t want to impose of them too much. My children, of course, would come to my aid if necessary, but I hadn’t planned to burden them with my infirmities for at least a few more years. So, while I expect my foot will heal eventually, I’m worried about incurring some other injury that might be more incapacitating. I’ve brushed off past falls while running or biking, but now I’m wondering if I’ve reached the “Age of Decline,” where I should be more circumspect about my choice of activities. That sense of unease will put a big crimp in my training, but not training at all would leave a large void in my life.

My dad’s self-imposed retirement didn’t last long. Within a few months, he bought two Angus cows. Then he bought three more, and soon there were nine cows in the pasture where once there had been nearly 50. Every morning he goes out in his pick-up to check on his “herd.” His day has a purpose, and he still feels like a farmer.

I still want to feel like a triathlete. I still would like to do an Olympic distance triathlon as a solo entry. So last night I did some strength training with a focus on upper body work and cycled for 20 minutes on a stationary bike wearing my boot. I hope that by the time indoor cycling starts on December 1, my footwear will be less cumbersome, but if it’s not, I’ll do what I can to keep tri-ing. Since I won a complimentary entry for the 2010 Pink Power Sprint at the TG brunch, I know there’s at least one event in my future.

Fate or Coincidently Clumsy?

2009-11-08T16:37:00.000-08:00

All fall I’d contemplated doing the Richmond Marathon 8K on Nov. 14. It’s a fun event, I was feeling more confident about my running, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to spend money for the entry fee. I kept putting off signing up, and last night, the decision was made for me. I somehow wrongly stepped off the edge of a slate sidewalk and hurt my left foot. I knew immediately the injury was most likely not an ordinary sprain, but I put some ice on it and figured the bad news could wait until morning. Today my foot was bruised and swollen and putting weight on it was difficult. After a few turns around my kitchen using a bar stool as a “walker,” I decided it was time for a trip to Patient First. There I learned I’d probably fractured a tiny bone along the little toe side of my foot (there was some discussion between the doctors as to whether the break that showed on the x-ray was new or old, but they decided to treat it as “new”). They put a splint around my foot and ankle, and gave me a pair of crutches and a referral to an ortho foot specialist. I don’t really mind not running the 8K, but I am sorry swimming, biking, and strength training are also temporarily curtailed while I hobble around.

One Lap Wonder

2009-10-10T18:45:00.000-07:00

“I’m not as good as I once was, but I’m as good once as I ever was.” I recalled that line from a country music song last week when Coach G. had us run timed 400s. She told us to do the first one “as if” we were only doing one, so I traveled around the track as fast as my stubby legs would take me, hoping I could break 2:45. My actual time for the lap was an amazing (for me) 2:30! Then G. told us we were doing two more 400s. I intentionally slowed my pace for the second one, but still did it in under 3 minutes. I tried to go all out again for the last 400, but was seven seconds slower than the first one. G. says we will be doing more timed 400s periodically during the off-season. I’d like to think my times would improve, but I already may have been as fast as I’m going to be.

Cooking the Numbers

2009-10-03T08:33:00.000-07:00

In this month’s edition of Runner’s World there’s an article about how some numbers are truer measures of weight loss than others. For example, we all know that muscle weighs more than fat, so what the scale says we weigh can be misleading for persons who have muscles. The article suggested several alternatives to determining fitness other than by weight only. The one that caught my attention was whether an article of clothing that fit when the scale said you weighed less still fit.

I tend to keep my clothes, even though I don’t wear them anymore, and so I found a dress in my closet that I’d bought many years ago when – despite a lack of exercise and a diet of coffee, Milky Way bars, and the occasional homemade biscuit with real butter – I weighed at least 20 pounds less than I do now. The dress is a one-piece sheath and buttons down the front. From the waist up, it still fit perfectly. From the waist down, not so well. It buttoned, but it was too snug to wear in public. Maybe I could say I just have more muscles in my thighs now, or I could admit I should lose some weight.

I’m not sure I can fit more exercise into my life, so that means paying more attention to diet, and that means I might actually have to cook real meals. I do not like to cook, but prepared food from grocery stores or restaurants is expensive and often lacking in nutrition, so, is there really a choice here? The same article said a healthy runner could expect to go two seconds faster for every pound lost. Well, I need all the help I can get to increase my speed. Twenty seconds would put me much closer to my goal of a consistent 12-minute mile. My goal for the off-season then is to cook.

Not What I’d Planned

2009-09-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

In the odd moments of my life – drinking an early morning cup of coffee, waiting in a long line, washing dishes – I compose “blog thoughts” in my head. Sometimes those musings get posted, but often, they linger in my mind waiting for publication.

“Patriot Weekend” was about how my bike, and maybe my wetsuit, both of which I’d loaned to fellow TGs, did the Patriot Sprint while I plodded at home on my headboard refinishing project. After two days of re-sanding and re-staining, I eventually was satisfied with the way it looked. Then I discovered the headboard did not fit my bed frame the way it was supposed to, so …. Even my worst-ever finish in a triathlon was not as disappointing.

Having gotten my bike back, I’d planned to ride it this weekend, but that’s not happening. The rainy weather is one reason, but the other is the trail run I did on Thursday with some friends. We were having a fine run along the river when “klutzo-me” tripped over a rock and landed flat on the ground. The last time I’d run with one of these people – about one year ago – I’d also tripped, and I badly bent my glasses when I fell on my face. This time my only thought as I went down was “Keep your head up – don’t break your new glasses!” I scraped my left elbow and my right knee – injuries that look worse than they are. But I also sprained/bruised two fingers on my right hand. Even though I iced them soon after the fall, my fingers are still swollen and sore, and trying to hold anything, like a bike handlebar, is difficult. So, my return to cycling has been postponed. But I don’t have to attempt any other furniture refinishing projects, either, and can, with no guilt at all, spend the weekend reading the newest P. Gregory historical novel about the English War of Roses.

A Fine Balance

2009-09-26T08:44:00.000-07:00

My aunt died last week; she was 92 and in poor health, so it wasn’t unexpected. Even so, it’s a sad reminder that our lives are finite, especially since, almost the same day, my mother learned she has a “suspicious nodule” on her lung near her spine. She had colon cancer three years ago, so once all the tests are done, we’re expecting to hear cancer has returned. My mother, who’s nearly 91, has adamantly said she will not have chemo or radiation, and the family will respect her decision. We are all planning to gather in October for my dad’s 90th birthday, but the celebration will be muted by knowing the next gathering could be for a very different reason.

On the happy side of life’s scale, however, was the text message I received this week from a friend – “It’s a boy!” I’ve known the mother-to-be since she was 4 years old, when her mother and I met in law school. Our daughters have always considered themselves sisters as well as friends, so I think I can claim “virtual-grandma” rights to this baby. And that gives me good reason to buy some cute “Future Triathlete” infant outfits.

Diversions

2009-09-02T19:08:00.000-07:00

I most likely won’t do any more triathlons this year. I was considering the Richmond Sprint in October, but there are other things going on that weekend that I’d also like to do. Not having a specific event to train for has given me time for other activities. I’ve been to the Iowa State Fair and the Green Valley Auction and Book Fair in Mt. Crawford. I’ve thought about redecorating my house, and last weekend I started to refinish a headboard that’s been sitting next to my bed for the past two months. Since I decided I really didn’t like the color of the wood stain I’d chosen, that’s still a “work in progress.” I’m thinking about enrolling in a writing seminar at UR. Of course, I’m still doing the Masters Swim at UR, the TG run on Thursday mornings, and twice weekly strength training, but that’s exercise for health’s sake, not “training.”

Patriot Camp

2009-08-17T17:55:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday I attended Patriot Camp, sponsored by TQT and led by coaches E. and C. A fellow TG and I left for Jamestown at 5:45 a.m. for a full, fantastic, fun day of biking, running and swimming. We split into two groups for the bike ride – Sprinters and Olympians. The Olys rode on Route 5 while Sprinters rode on the adjacent bike trail. The trail was wonderful, and also flat – a pleasant change from the PP hills last week. Someday the trail is supposed to go all the way to Richmond, and it will be a fantastic ride. Then we had a hands-on bike maintenance clinic, where we practiced changing a flat tire. For me, it was my second tire change of the day, as I had blown out a tube while pumping up my tire before we even started the ride. I was using a fancier pump than I’m used to and I didn’t push/pull quickly enough when I should have. Next on the agenda were running techniques and drills, followed by a 3-mile run on the bike trail. Even though I was the last one to finish, I had an excellent time for me, so I was pleased. After lunch we moved across the road to the swim venue. We practiced open water starts, sighting, and techniques for swimming against the current or in some chop. The last session of the day was on race strategy and nutrition. This camp was a wonderful training experience. It was well organized, had great swag, and provided super support for aspiring triathletes.

Progress in Pink

2009-08-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

I did the Pink Power sprint triathlon on August 9. This was a new, all-women event, and there were nearly 400 participants – half of them first-timers. The swim was 400 meters in an outdoor pool, the bike was 11+ miles of rolling hills, and the run was 3.1 miles around a small lake, thru the woods, and up more hills. I suppose the race director didn’t want anyone to say the race wasn’t challenging, but, for my part, I would have been just as satisfied with a flatter course. I’d done the run several times before the race, so I knew what the terrain was like, but I hadn’t expected my legs to feel like they were stuck in cement when I got to that segment, so the last mile was tough.

Overall, the race was fun. I rarely do as well as I hope beforehand that I might, but my particular goal for this race had been to finish ahead of at least one of the three competitors in my age group, and I placed second. I also was encouraged when I compared my split times with my performance last October at the Napier Richmond Sprint. I think that course is much easier, despite the one, long uphill climb on the bike segment. At the Pink Power, I had a slightly faster swim, a much faster T1, and a comparable bike and run. So I guess I’m still in the game.

Log Canoe Adventure

2009-07-16T18:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I skipped training to visit my daughter and her husband on the Maryland Eastern Shore. C&F are avid sailors, and they were participating in a log canoe regatta. A log canoe is a long, thin, sleek boat with sails. (The three sails have names, based on their positions, but since I’m sort of out of my element here, I’ll just call them all sails.) The boats were originally raced by oystermen, and the one C&F crew with was built in 1902. Imagine still riding a bike that old!

Preparing for the log canoe race seemed a lot like preparing for a triathlon. There was gear to gather – boat shoes, gloves, hats, suntan lotion, course maps, bailing buckets, and duct tape. The tape is apparently some sort of talisman – the Silver Heel does not leave the dock without it. The race was set to start at 10 a.m., but we arrived at the launch site by 8:30 a.m. C&F and the other crew members (about a dozen in all) hoisted the two masts into place and adjusted the sails. Each canoe is identified by a number, which never changes because it’s printed on a sail, and the color of the crew’s shirts. The SH folks wore red.

About 9:15 a.m., the canoes were towed to the starting line by the “chase” boats – so named because they follow the canoes on the course and are at the ready to assist when necessary. I rode with F and some other spectators in the chase boat for the SH. C’s assigned spot was the very rear tip of the canoe, jutting out over the water. (She's the tiny spot on the right side of the above photo.) Saturday was very windy, and there were white caps on the river – not ideal conditions for the race. In fact, one team decided they didn’t have enough experienced crew to handle the rough weather and stayed at the dock.

The 10-minute warning sounded. At the 5-minute warning, the six canoes jockeyed for position, wanting to be as close to the starting line as possible without crossing it before the race officially began. Having next to nil knowledge about the course, I couldn’t tell where the canoes were supposed to go or who was ahead. It looked like the SH was leading, but then the other canoes all turned toward an orange buoy. Someone in our chase boat soon figured out the Heel was off course, but race rules forbid communicating such information to the crew in the canoe. We could only watch until they discovered their mistake and re-adjusted their course.

The SH tried to make up lost time as she rounded the next buoy. Strategically positioned on long boards placed perpendicular to the sides of the canoe, the crew scrambled from one board/side to the other as they tacked. From the chase boat we saw the canoe nearly capsize several times. Then someone fell overboard, and the canoe went down. The race was over for the SH.

The chase boat anchored close by and we began the long process of gathering the heavy, wet sails into the boat, along with other miscellaneous equipment. Then the canoe was turned right-side-up and bailed out. Once the masts were laid flat along the length of the canoe, the chase boat towed it back to the dock. Some of the crew rode on the SH and some rode in the chase boat. Luckily, only one person was hurt – a sprained knee. We later learned several of the other canoes also had capsized. Everyone spread their sails out to dry and got ready to race again the next day.

The weather was better Sunday, and two shorter races were held. The SH did all right in the first race and was running third in the second race when, again, she capsized. If this regatta had given a “bottoms up” prize, the SH certainly would have won it.

Swimming with the Masters

2009-07-08T19:07:00.000-07:00

Recently I joined a Masters Swim program at UR. I’ve thought about doing this for years but never did because I didn’t think I could keep up with the other swimmers. The UR program, however, emphasized that all levels of ability were welcome, and I figured maybe my triathlon experience had improved my swimming, so I signed up. The class meets three times a week, but I only attend on Monday evenings and Wednesday mornings. I’m in the “baby lane,” of course, but I usually can keep up with my fellow swimmers there.

In other group swims I’ve done I’ve struggled with the drills. Remarkably, in this class, I can actually do at least some of them. On Monday, we did a drill where we kicked while on our back with our hands together in the air at a 90 degree angle from our body. To my surprise, I didn’t find this as difficult as some of the other, accomplished swimmers did. Today we tossed a small medicine ball back and forth for 30 seconds at a time while remaining vertical in the water and kicking our legs. It was challenging, but my partner and I did it.

The best thing we’ve done so far, though, is diving. At the end of today’s swim, we took our marks on the side of the pool and then dived in as though we were starting a race. It’s been years and years, and a few more years, since I’d done any diving, and I wasn’t sure I’d remember how. I had unpleasant visions of hitting the water with a gigantic plop. However, I sprang off the side, sliced into the water, and glided to the top. Then I did it twice more because it was so much fun.

Hy-Vee Olympic, Take 2

2009-07-03T17:47:00.000-07:00

Last November, perhaps after a visit to the Breezy Hills Winery in Minden, Iowa, my sister and I decided to do the Hy-Vee Triathlon again. We named our team “Wash-Dry-Put Away,” our assigned tasks for doing dishes on the farm. All winter and spring, I diligently worked on improving my swimming and JB trained on her bike. JJ, however, was preoccupied with moving to a new house and then she hurt her foot, so she withdrew from the team in April. Not wanting to abandon the race, I decided to take her place as the runner. I kept meaning to concentrate more on that phase of my training, but I never quite succeeded.

Race day arrived, a pleasant summer morning with no rain in the forecast. Thankfully, the oppressive heat of the preceding week was gone, and it was actually chilly as we gathered at 5 a.m. From the beach, the buoy marking the turning point of the 1500 meter course seemed very far away.

My swim wave went off at 6:36 a.m. The water temperature was in the low 80s – too warm for the wet suit I’d carefully packed. Once I got started, I felt more confident than last year. I was disappointed, then, to discover when I finished that my time was three minutes slower than last year (when I’d stopped to rest at almost every buoy, but had worn a wet suit).

As I entered the transition area, I took off my foggy goggles and headed toward the person I thought was JB. I realized my mistake just as I started to hand the timing chip to a surprised stranger.

This year’s bike course had more hills than last year’s, and the first half required riding into the wind. JB, who rides a heavy, hybrid bike, had worried she’d have to walk her bike up the biggest hills. I assured her doing so would be okay, but she wasn’t looking forward to her part of the race. However, after her husband gave her some tips on proper gear-shifting technique, she rode up all the hills and actually enjoyed the second half of the ride.

Then it was my turn again. The run course had more hills this year, too. The 10K course was an “out and back,” and on the return, I ran with a young woman from Chicago. I enjoyed having a companion, as there were not many runners still on the course, and we encouraged each other to finish strong. My time was what I’d realistically predicted.

Our total team time was about 20 minutes slower than last year when JJ was the runner, but both JB and I were just happy to have finished. We had some post-race Blue Bunny ice cream, collected our gear, and departed. Before the race, JB had said she wasn’t doing it again next year, but on the way from Des Moines to her house, she was already reconsidering. Maybe Santa will bring her a new road bike!

Jam-Packed June

2009-06-07T18:29:00.000-07:00

So far, this month has been like jumping beans. Last Sunday (which actually was May 31), I did the 8K Run Like A Girl trail run at Pocahontas State Park. My time was 4-5 minutes slower than last year, but except for the third mile, I maintained a decent pace and finished 6/13 in my age group. The top 3 women in the group did the run in 40-45 minutes, while everyone else took at least an hour. I finished the day with a one-mile swim at the JCC.

Then on Monday, my essay in the Mindset Triathlon Anthology was published. I was disappointed I wasn’t a top 3 prize winner, but I did enjoy sending my free author’s copies to various friends and family members. However, the process of downloading the digital book was so complicated, I’m not sure anyone but my son the engineer has actually read the essay.

Tuesday morning found me at the UR fitness center for nearly an hour of indoor cycling with KG. Wednesday morning we were back at UR for a Masters swim class. The class, the first one I’d attended, went better than I’d thought it might. Of course, the four of us in the “granny” lane did about half as many laps as everyone else did! Then there was strength training on Wednesday evening at MMF and a TG run on Thursday morning. The highlight of the run was our relay races. I did one quarter-mile in 2:38 and felt like I was really running, instead of my usual slow jog. My time for the half-mile was a respectable 5:28. By Friday, I was ready for a rest day.

On Saturday I decided to forego biking at WC and do a 6-mile run instead. I’m doing the swim and run parts of an Olympic distance tri in Iowa on June 28; one of my sisters will do the bike part. My other sister was supposed to have done the run, but she changed her mind last month. A great believer in “signs,” she thought this meant we shouldn’t do the triathlon, but I said, “not likely.” However, I haven’t trained for the distance nearly as much as I should have, so doing the WC loop seemed like a good idea. Then I came home and cleaned house before going for a short swim at UR.

Later on Saturday my daughter arrived for a week-end visit. In addition to shopping, our main event was baking a nine-layer cake for one of my co-workers who will be 50 on June 8. The cake is a traditional Smith Island (Maryland) recipe, and the layers are quite thin. My co-worker prefers frosting to cake, so this recipe seemed perfect for her.

Now it’s Sunday evening, and another busy week looms ahead. After June 12, I’ll be at a conference or on vacation until July 1, and I have numerous projects to finish before I go.

Making My Day

2009-05-20T19:14:00.000-07:00

The finalists for the Mindset Triathlon essay contest were supposed to be announced on Monday, May 18. All day I waited anxiously for the email announcing I’d made the cut, but it never came. I was still hopeful I might hear something yesterday, but, again, nothing. By this morning, I’d accepted the fact that my essay had been rejected, and I was trying not to dwell on my disappointment. Then, in mid-morning, I received a congratulatory email from Staley at Mindset – yes, indeed, I was a finalist! My name should appear on the Mindset homepage tomorrow, and my essay will appear in a book to be published online June 1. I could even still qualify for a prize, which will be given to the top three. That would be especially exciting, although the prize is an underwater mp3 player, and I’m not sure I’d know what to do with it, if I did happen to win it. But for now, I’m thrilled to be a finalist.

Rained Out at Rockett’s

2009-05-17T14:48:00.000-07:00

Even though we knew rain was expected, we were hoping the forecast was wrong. It wasn’t raining at 6 a.m. when we set up our transition site, but the dark purple clouds on the horizon looked ominous. Our swimmer, an IM pro undaunted by bad weather, donned her wet suit and headed to the starting dock. As we waited for the race to begin, we could see the buoys in the river had been moved and then we learned the course had been shortened. Sheets of rain were coming down the river, and within minutes, we were drenched. The swimmers gathered at the new starting point, and the first wave (men 39 and under) took off. Our biker and I (the runner) went back to transition so she’d be ready to ride. It was raining steadily, the wind had picked up, and the air was getting chilly. We questioned why we were there. Then we saw a lot of pink and yellow caps walking toward transition. We were pretty sure they hadn’t had time to finish the swim. We soon found out the water had become too rough and the swim was cancelled, but no one seemed to know what was going to happen next. At that point, the thought of enduring several more hours of cold rain while biking and running was not at all appealing, so we “scrubbed the mission.” Later, as we warmed up over coffee, Biker and I decided we’d do our own “mini-tri” at the UR fitness center. We ran 2 miles on the indoor track, rode stationary bikes for 30 minutes, and swam 750 yards in the pool. And when we finished, it was still raining.

Ready or Not

2009-05-16T07:30:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is my first tri of the season -- I'm doing the run as part of a relay. I'm not sure I'm really ready -- since last fall I haven't run more than 4 miles at a time, and I've only done that twice, and the last time was in early March. I know, barring some sort of disaster or injury, I can complete the 6.2 miles, but it will take me a while. I don't know that I'd be much faster even if I'd trained more, though, so "que sera, sera."

One Clip at a Time

2009-05-16T07:29:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I rode clipped in on the road for the first time in a long while. Granted, I only clipped in my right foot, but I wasn’t overcome by anxiety when I got on and I didn’t fall over when I got off, so I considered the ride a success. When I first switched to clipless pedals two years ago, I clipped in my right foot, but not my left because I’ve always had issues with falling off bikes when trying to stop and dismount and I didn’t want to make falling any easier than it already was. At my age, circumspection is the better part of valor. Last season I fell so many times trying to master clipping in both feet that just thinking about getting on my bike precipitated panic-induced paralysis. Finally, I quit trying, deciding that I needed to concentrate instead on simply feeling comfortable on my bike again

I hated being such a wimp, though, and I hadn’t fallen off my bike in a while, so I was determined to try again this year. There was a moment of trepidation as I heard my right foot click in, but I told myself “you can do this,” and kept pedaling. My ride was insignificantly faster, but the fact I did it at all was encouraging. One of these days, maybe I will be able to clip in both feet successfully.

Weekend Workout

2009-04-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

My weekend started at 6 a.m. on Saturday with one hour of indoor cycling at MMF. Then TG KG and I went to SPTC to run the ASK 5K. This was a family friendly event to support children with cancer. The 3.1 mile course looped around the back of the mall with the start-finish line near Nordstrom’s. KG had a great race, finishing in less time than she’d anticipated. I was several minutes behind. While I’d always like to be faster than I am, I was satisfied with my time. However, I’m not listed anywhere in the results – it’s like I became invisible once ASK took my money for the entry fee and gave me a race number.

7 a.m. Sunday found me on my bike riding the Rockett’s Landing course with KG. Except for turning right when we should have gone straight and ending up on a dead-end road at the bottom of a hill surrounded by woods, the kind of place that might be described as “where people dump dead bodies,” the ride was pleasant. Because we have been doing cadence drills this month at indoor cycling, I concentrated on shifting gears to maintain my cadence. Maybe I’m just finally “getting it,” but this ride seemed smoother than usual and the smaller hills less daunting. The bigger ones are still a challenge.

Sunday afternoon, KG and I swam at the UR pool. In deference to our other weekend activities, we didn’t swim quite as many laps as we usually do, but it was still a productive effort. Maybe I picked up some inspiration from having recently watched Pride, a movie set in 1974 about a swim team at a rec center in urban Philadelphia.

Next weekend I’ll be at the beach, the following weekend my daughter and her husband are planning to visit, and then it’s Rockett’s. So I guess I’ll start tapering now.

2,139 Words

2009-04-22T16:50:00.000-07:00

On April 16, 1 hour and 14 minutes before the deadline, I submitted my entry to the Mindset Triathlon Essay Contest. Fifteen essays on the philosophy of triathlon will be chosen for publication in “The Life of Tri,” an anthology “exploring the meaning and inspiration behind the sport of triathlon.” Finalists will be announced on May 18.

When Coach G first told us about this contest, I began thinking about what I might write. I had a possible theme in mind, and I composed random sentences, even paragraphs, in my head as I swam laps and folded laundry. After I put all my thoughts on paper, however, I discovered I had a big problem. The essay had to be a minimum of 2000 words, and I only had about 1400. I thought about all kinds of things I might include to make the essay longer, but I discarded most of them as soon as I wrote them down. Every time I added something, I deleted something else, so my net word count remained stuck at 1400, then 1500. Expounding on what triathlons mean to me was proving quite difficult, and I was getting desperate as the deadline loomed. I lost sleep, my lunch hour, and training time as I struggled to write just 501 more words. Then, much like muscling through a tough hill on my bike, I found the necessary words and completed my essay.

Changing Seasons, Changing Venues

2009-04-12T09:27:00.000-07:00

Finally, it’s starting to look and feel like spring. As much as I like the coming season, though, I’m sorry it foretells the end of indoor cycling. When I ride inside on a trainer, I clip in and out of my pedals with ease, I ride in aero, and I keep up with the group. These skills are lost off the trainer. I rode outside at W.Crk. for the first time this year on April 4. After just ten miles I’d had enough “yumminess.” This past Saturday I got a reprieve because predictions of rain moved the ride inside, but next week I’ll have to take on W.Crk. again. Maybe I could just set up my trainer in the parking lot!

If This Were My Last …

2009-04-12T09:25:00.000-07:00

I recently read in the newspaper that some study group had determined more persons died during triathlons than participating in other sports and that most deaths came in the swim portion. That’s a sobering thought. I know there are risks of injury in triathlons, but every time I do one, I’d rather not be contemplating my demise. However, under the rubric of “make every day count,” I’ve often asked myself, “If this were the last day of my life, would I spend it doing what I’m doing now?” Generally, the answer is “yes,” and when it’s not, I’ve moved on to doing something else. Applying the same philosophy to triathlons, while I wouldn’t consider starting each race thinking it could be my last good strategy, as long as I’m willing to accept that possibility, I’ll keep tri-ing.

Time to Step Up

2009-03-29T14:17:00.000-07:00

By this time last year, I’d run and swum about twice as many miles and laps as I’ve done this year. Last year I was training for the Monument Ave. 10K and my first triathlon of the season, so my motivation was high. This year I’ve done just enough training to not be a total slug, but my sense of purpose has been lacking. It’s not that I’ve tired of triathlons or other races – it’s more that I don’t want to spend money on the entry fees. I don’t need more tee-shirts, socks, hats, or water bottles. And I’m past needing to prove to myself, or anyone else, that I can do these events. So, with no early races to prepare for, I’ve not been as diligent in my training as last year.

However, it’s time to step up. My sisters and I are registered for the Hy-Vee Olympic in Iowa in June, which we’ll do as a relay, and I’ll be the swimmer. I’ve agreed to do Rockett’s Landing in May as a relay with two other TGs, and I’ll be the runner. It’s time to start some serious training.

Am I Smart Enough to Own a Bike?!

2009-03-29T14:14:00.000-07:00

For several years I’ve transported my bike, laid on its side, inside my car, but then the chain kept coming off almost every time I loaded and unloaded the bike, so I decided this year to get a bike rack. My original thought was to get a new car that came with the manufacturer’s bike rack, but the diminishing state of my retirement fund squelched that idea. So, instead, I bought an ordinary rack that holds two bikes and attached to the back of my car.

The salesman’s brief explanation of how to install it seemed simple enough. When I opened the box and started to read the written instructions, however, the task seemed much more complicated. First, I had to read the special footnotes that applied to my car. Then I had to adjust the rack so the upper and lower frames would be the required 11 inches apart. After several attempts, I correctly pushed/pulled the knobs that released the frames and maneuvered them into place. Then I positioned the rack on my car and adjusted the top straps. The trick to tightening the straps, I discovered, was to press the little metal lever that said “press” before trying to pull the strap. Next I affixed the bottom and side straps, which required several, hard tugs. (At last, a practical application of strength training!)

Now I was ready to put my bike on the rack. Lifting the bike on went pretty well (another advantage of strength training), but the stabilizer piece didn’t fit around the bike stem right. Studying the diagram in the instructions again, I figured out I’d put the bike on the rack backwards – the chain side wasn’t supposed to be facing the car. So I took the bike off, turned it around, and lifted it back on. This time all the parts fit properly, the bike seemed to be snugly in place, and the rack didn’t fall off the car. Of course, I haven’t driven anywhere yet with the bike on the rack, but I hope it will work as well on the road as it did in my garage.

After my struggle with the rack, I figured my next bike project – attaching a small bag behind the seat – would be a snap. Well, …. I could see from the picture on the tag how it was supposed to go, but I couldn’t figure out how to place the straps to accomplish that result. There were no instructions for installation, so I tried up, down, and backwards, without success. I was about to resort to duct tape when, suddenly, I knew exactly how to do it, and the result looked just like the picture.

Snow Day

2009-03-02T08:40:00.000-08:00

Because I’m not fond of winter, I’ve always looked forward to March as the beginning of spring. There’s nothing spring-like about today, however, with at least seven inches of snow in my yard and predicted temperatures in the teens tonight. But it’s okay. It’s Monday, and my office is closed due to snow. Because it’s an unexpected “free time day,” I can read a book, watch a movie, or even catch up my blog. I can enjoy my favorite cozy foods – grilled cheese, popcorn and hot chocolate. A “snow day” is a bonus, and I intend to make the most of it.

Kittens

2009-01-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to read me a story about a kitten that persevered until she got what she wanted. I don’t remember what that was, but the storybook had several gray and white kittens pictured on the cover playing with a basket of blue yarn. I’ve always associated the word “persevere” with those kittens. In life or triathlons, perseverance is an appropriate concept for me. But the visual image of frolicking kittens can also remind me to have fun in whatever I do. Dog lovers (and new parents) would disagree, of course, but I think there’s nothing much cuter than kittens. I want that image to focus my energy on enjoying the endeavor, as I keep going until I finish.

Finally, Clean Closets

2009-01-19T19:24:00.000-08:00

For months I’ve been trying to clean out my closets. Two years ago, when my sister moved from MD to NC, I agreed to store some of her belongings. Several minivan loads later, my extra bedroom had become the “JJ Memorial Storeroom.” Since I had been storing several large boxes for my daughter, as well as a few small items for a friend, in that room, I had to move those things into other closets in my house so nobody’s stuff would get confused. And since I tend to save odd items on the chance that someday they might prove useful, there wasn’t much available space. I kept putting things in wherever they fit, though, and figured “someday” I’d sort it all out.

By Labor Day 2008, both my sister and my daughter had reclaimed their stuff, and the only excuse I had for the sorry state of my closets was that I had triathlons to do, so cleaning would have to wait. I did squeeze in straightening up a small closet now and then, but my two largest – and most cluttered – closets remained to be done. As the holidays – Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s – passed by with no extra time for cleaning, I was determined I’d spend my 4-day Lee-Jackson-King weekend on the task.

As I surveyed the mess of my bedroom closet on Friday, I considered that running a marathon in sub-zero weather might be a better activity. But there was no race on my schedule – just heaps of clothing, pillows, and empty gift boxes in varying sizes. Several hours later, I’d filled a bag for Goodwill and my drawers were neatly arranged. Figuring I needed a break from closet drudgery on Saturday, I went to indoor cycling and then a swim at the JCC. I also had other plans on Sunday, so that left Monday for the final closet.

Fortified by an extra cup of coffee, I grabbed the curtain rods that always fall out when that closet door is opened before they hit me in the head. Facing me was a hodgepodge of things put there six years ago when I moved in and accumulated since. I methodically examined every box or plastic bag I took off the shelves. Sometimes I was surprised to see I still had an item, sometimes I wondered why I’d kept it, and sometimes I was impressed I could lift the box. I only got sidetracked once – reading the newsletters I edited for a Tidewater sports car club many years ago. Then it was back to filling more bags for Goodwill, recycling, and trash. By noon, I could say “Mission Accomplished.” Well, almost – I have years of family photos and personal papers to sort through, but at least they are all in the same filing cabinet now. That project is for another day. It’s time to concentrate on triathlons again.

Getting Back in the Saddle

2009-01-10T12:21:00.000-08:00

The recent holidays took a bigger than usual chunk out of my fitness routine. Because I was occupied with seasonal activities like shopping and then was out of town, I missed several cycling and strength-training sessions. And while my visits with family and friends were wonderful, I apparently caught some kind of “bug” on the way home from Texas – maybe it was “spa-withdrawal”! Anyway, for much of last week, I felt “blah” – not bad enough to be officially sick, but not good, either. When I climbed on my bike this morning at 7 a.m., I hadn’t ridden in nearly two weeks. It was good to be back, even though I had to leave early to keep my quarterly date with the “Bug Man.” Having not had the energy to train at all earlier in the week made me appreciate each pedal stroke. Being reminded this way that good health is indeed a blessing helps me see that, although I’d like to be faster this year, what’s truly important is that I can continue to do it at all.

What About 2009?

2009-01-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

Another year – another tri season. I’m very “que sera sera” about the events I might attempt or accomplish this year. Last year I was enthused about the goals I’d set. This year I have no goals. I’ll stay with the TG program, of course, but I’m not feeling compelled to commit to training for any particular race. (Training as a way of maintaining a certain level of fitness and a healthy lifestyle is an entirely different matter!) And since I’m trying to pay attention these days to what I’m spending my money on, I’m going to choose carefully the events I do.

I might do the Smithfield Sprint again because it’s a good “first of the season” triathlon. I’ll do one of the sprints on the Shady Grove course because that’s my benchmark event. As long as I can see some improvement in my performance there, I’ll keep tri-ing. The all-women’s sprint in August will probably be on my calendar, and the Patriot (sprint or olympic) could be a possibility.

I expect I’ll continue this blog. My biggest achievement of the year could be figuring out how to add some snazzy graphics!

Challenges

2008-12-07T17:34:00.000-08:00

As incentive for December, the TGs have been given the opportunity to win TG apparel by successfully completing a personal challenge during the month. The challenge can be anything – perfect attendance at workouts, a certain number of miles done, etc. I’ve decided to not eat any ice cream until Dec. 24. I’m quite fond of ice cream, and I eat it often; but I should practice better nutrition than I do, so I figured this challenge would get me started in the right direction. I’m not giving up ice cream for the whole month, though, because it’s a family tradition to have peppermint ice cream at the holidays and I will allow myself a small portion then.

I also plan to swim 105 more 50-yard laps so I will have done 60 miles for the year. My original goal was to do 2000 laps, or 100,000 yards. Since I accomplished that on Saturday afternoon, and there are still 3½ weeks in the month, I decided to do 3 more miles. And I’d like to run 8 more miles to reach 300 miles for the year.

Then there’s the challenge of planning for next year. I don’t expect to repeat as a Setup Events age group award winner. Five events are required in 2009, and there are only three events I have any interest in doing – Smithfield (4/4), 3Sports (7/19), Patriot (9/13). A fourth possibility would be Acorn (10/4), but I don’t want my 2009 season to last as long as 2008 did. I also want to do Rocket’s Landing (5/17) and Pink Power (8/9). Entry fees for all these events will add up fast, so that’s another reason to be selective about which ones I do. Training has become a way of life for me, so maybe I’ll just train for events, and not actually compete in them.

Between Seasons

2008-11-27T11:07:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving – traditionally the day we reflect on our blessings and fortify ourselves with truly yummy food to withstand the holiday onslaught ahead. For me, it’s also a time to catch up on my life and contemplate endings and beginnings.

I finished my 2008 season with the Richmond Half-Marathon. My time was not as fast as I’d hoped it would be, but it was faster than I’d feared it might be based on my training runs. There apparently was a problem with my chip and so initially I wasn’t listed in the official results, but an email to the race organizers remedied that.

I’m glad I’m done with running for awhile. If I didn’t want to make a solo attempt at an Olympic distance race in 2009, I might be done forever. I’ve gotten so slow, “running” seems a misnomer and somewhat pointless, when walking is much easier on my various body parts. And there were the photos from the Half as I neared the finish line – I look positively decrepit! Of course, I had just dashed across the street to retrieve my hat, which had blown off my head. It was a TG hat, and I wasn’t about to let it get away!

On many levels, my year was a success. I made my goal of earning a SetUp Events age-group award (actual prize unknown, but my name’s at the top of the list). My plan of doing more events than anyone else in my age group was the key. However, five sprints between late March and early October (plus one more non-SetUp sprint) is not a schedule I think I’ll repeat next year. I had a few PRs in the swim and bike legs of individual races. Though we’re only talking seconds, any improvement gives me incentive to keep “tri-ing.”

I didn’t do a whole Olympic distance by myself, as I’d hoped to do, but the HyVee relay with my sisters was my favorite race of the year. We’re already signed up to do it again on June 28, 2009.

My new season starts on Monday, December 1, when indoor cycling begins. Before then, though, I have closets to clean. And I’ll enjoy my turkey and pumpkin pie.

It was a What???

2008-11-01T16:02:00.000-07:00

It was reported in last week’s paper that a large yellow animal, thought to be a lion, or maybe a bobcat, had been seen roaming a suburban street in Southside Richmond early Tuesday morning. Now this was not just any street – it was my street! The street I run on when I run in my neighborhood. If I’d done the run I usually do on Tuesday mornings, I might have seen this animal, too. Or maybe it would have seen me first. Would it have thought “tasty breakfast morsel,” or “frightening apparition”? The animal has not been found, or seen again on the street, but I ran at West Creek today.

Marathon Training

2008-10-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

I had intended to concentrate my training this weekend on the Richmond Half-Marathon, which is 4 weeks away. However, I’d promised a friend that I’d go with her to an indoor cycling class at her fitness center on Sat. morning, so I met her there at 7:45 a.m. and we cycled until 10:15 a.m. I enjoyed the class, as indoor cycling is one of my favorite activities. The instructor was very good, too, so I felt like I’d had a challenging ride.

I came home to do my usual weekly “clean up after the cats” chores, and then I decided to go for a swim at the Tuckahoe YMCA. (The JCC was closed for maintenance, so members were allowed to use the Y, and I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity). After doing 1,000 meters, I went to Baskin-Robbins for a chocolate ice cream cone. I recently learned chocolate milk was a good recovery drink; I don’t drink milk (never have, even as a child), but I’m quite fond of ice cream, so I figured a chocolate cone was an acceptable substitute. Of course, since I was at the mall, I had to check out the sales. Then I had to go to another mall to hunt down a sweater to match the skirt I’d bought. A stop for groceries completed my day. I considered staying up to watch SP on SNL, but since I was meeting T&B early on Sunday for a trail run, I opted for sleep instead.

Sun. morning we did almost 10 miles on the trails at Pocahontas SP. It was a great day until about mile 8.8, when I tripped and fell flat on my face. Fortunately, the only damage was a scratched check and badly bent glasses. Our time for the whole run was about 3 hours. Since that’s my approximate time for the Half, I’m hoping 10 miles on trails will prove to be good training for 13 miles on streets.

IM Envy

2008-10-19T14:40:00.000-07:00

Several TGs I know are preparing to do an Ironman soon and others are thinking about doing one next year. I admire their determination and ability to achieve this goal. I wish I were them. I wish I’d discovered triathlons when I was younger, when the possibility of doing an IM might have been feasible. I think I would have been physically stronger then, and more importantly, I would have been more confident about the outcome and more willing to risk participating. Now self-doubt tempers my IM desire – even with the best training in the world and perfect race conditions, how could I ever be fast enough to finish in the allotted time? And what if I seriously hurt myself trying? So I race vicariously as I follow the progress of my fellow IM-TGs, both in training and on the course. Even though I am not making their same journey, I’m glad to know them as they pursue their IM dream. I wish them smooth water, no headwind, and fleet feet.

The Relay that Wasn’t

2008-10-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

I was supposed to have done the Riverside Sprint on Oct. 12 as a relay with two co-workers. Runner developed some sort of upper respiratory problem on Thursday, but she assured us she would be fine by Sunday. Since she had been the impetus for forming the team, we hoped for the best and didn’t consider a back-up plan. But when she was not better by Saturday afternoon, she reluctantly withdrew from the race. I figured Biker and I could manage as a two-person team and that I would do the swim and run. When I called her Saturday evening to confirm this plan, though, she said she also wasn’t feeling well. (Did I really believe her? Well, maybe.) But now I had a problem.

Not doing the race wasn’t an option. Afterall, I’d stood in a long line at 3Sports for packet pick-up and had a half slice of pumpkin pound cake as part of my “carb loading” dinner. As I gathered my gear, I thought about what part/parts of the tri I might do – just swim, swim and bike, swim and run, or swim, bike and run. I wasn’t excited about the bike course, but I put my bike, helmet and shoes in the car anyway.

Sunday morning, after talking with the race director, I switched the entry from relay to age group. I set up my transition spot and headed to the pool, where I chatted with other TGs while waiting for my swim start.

The swim went okay. I might have shaved a few seconds off my time if I’d been able to heave myself out of the pool quicker, but I was close to my anticipated time. The lengthy run around the building from the pool to the transition area, as well as a little trouble with my bike, added to my transition time, but I was feeling strong as I began the bike leg. I fostered that feeling as long as I could because I knew the dreaded Winterfield hill loomed ahead. I passed a few riders, and was passed by a few more. (Personal pet peeve – riders who don’t bother to say “on your left.”) I survived the hill and the vehicle traffic on the course. Then it was on to the run. I felt like I was maintaining a decent pace, with minimum walking, while I was on the course, so I was surprised to discover when it was over that, in fact, this was my slowest tri run this year, and maybe slowest ever. But, no matter, I finished. The other two women who had registered in the age group didn’t show for the race, so I got a nice pint glass and a watch cap for my effort.

This was the third time I’ve done this particular sprint course. The first time, six years ago, was my first official triathlon (I’d done an unofficial one the year before somewhere else). I don’t recall my times for the event -- probably the whole thing took somewhere around 2 hours and 15-20 minutes, but I do remember having to walk my old bike up the Winterfield hill. The second time was four years ago. I was supposed to do it then as a relay, too, but my partner bowed out several weeks before the event, so I did it solo. Riding a different bike, I managed to get up the hill without walking, and I finished in 2:11:25. This year I was a few seconds faster in the swim and transitions, and about 8 minutes faster on the bike, but over 3 minutes slower on the run, for a total time of 2:06:37. Even though that’s a PR for the course, I’d liked to have had a better run time. But next year is another season, and I expect to “tri’ again.

The Important Thing Is I Finished

2008-10-05T13:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Oct. 4, I did the Giant Acorn Sprint at Lake Anna. I will remember this event for two things. First, I had a hard time with the swim; so hard, in fact, that about 100 or so meters into it, I considered raising my hand and quitting. I decided to keep going to the first buoy, though. After a few minutes there trying to catch my breath, I headed for the next buoy. The swim didn’t get any easier, but I persevered. I don’t know why the swim was so difficult. I like to swim, and I’m fine in a pool. In past open water swims, it’s taken me some time to adjust to the cooler temperatures, but I was wearing a wetsuit at Lake Anna and really didn’t feel cold in the 74º water. However, except for brief intervals, my breathing was ragged and my stroke floundered. I felt marginally better with my face out of the water, so I backstroked and sidestroked from buoy to buoy, and, eventually, I finished. My swim time was 26:58, many minutes slower than I’d expected, but I was so glad I’d gotten through it, it felt like a PR.

At T1, my left foot got stuck in my wetsuit, and my chain came off my bike when I lifted it off the rack, but I was still on track to finish well within the allotted time of 2½ hours.

The bike course was pleasant, at least until the end. At the 10-mile mark, I thought I was going to make or even beat my anticipated time. The last two miles, however, seemed to have an unexpected abundance of “rolling hills.” I would have known this if I hadn’t taken a wrong turn on the way to the marina and/or had driven the course before the race. Anyway, the terrain slowed my pace. Then, as I was coming into the marina, I encountered participants who’d already finished the race who were leaving with their bikes and gear, and spectators with dogs and children. I decided it would be safer to dismount early and walk my bike in than to try to ride through the crowd, which added a few more minutes to my bike leg.

T2 was uneventful, and I was off on the run. I soon suspected I was the last runner on the course, and by the turn-around point, I was sure of it. I’ve never been the last finisher before. But I was having a decent run – certainly better than my last two sprints, so I put aside my embarrassment at being last and concentrated on finishing strong. My time was 2:21:05, 20 minutes and 20 seconds behind the other woman in our age group.

Although I’m disappointed with my performance, I’m not totally disheartened. I didn’t quit. Some of the things that slowed me down might not happen again (of course, there are always unknown obstacles to overcome!), but they’re things I can aim to improve next year. And most important, I finished my fifth sprint for 2008 and secured my spot in the Setup Events awards.

Tri “Green”?

2008-09-24T18:50:00.000-07:00

I’d thought about going to NC to visit my sister this weekend, but there is a gas shortage where she lives, so the trip is off. Even though I have a car that gets decent gas mileage, I don’t want to use gas for a trip that’s really not necessary. And that, plus gas at nearly $4/gallon, has made me take another took at my driving habits. I routinely combine errands and extra-curricular activities with my daily commute from the southside to downtown, but I’m thinking I should do more.

My options are limited, however. I could take the bus to work, but I’d have to adjust my routine and join a different pool and fitness center, one located closer to my house. I’m not quite ready to do that yet, so a more feasible solution would be to bundle my swim and strength training workouts into two days and drive just on those days. On the days I rode the bus, I could run or bike in my neighborhood. Biking or running to/from work is not an option.

But a problem with living “green” is that I would miss the fellowship of my training companions. I have limited my trips to WC, as it seems counterproductive to drive 25 miles round trip to ride my bike, when I could do the same thing closer to home. WC is a wonderful course, though, and I would hate to give it up entirely. The same is true of running at UR or Byrd Park. Trying to be “green” presents a new training obstacle, as I struggle to find, and maintain, a proper balance between responsibly conserving and consuming.

“Best Laid Plan”

2008-09-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

For the past 2 weeks, my life has been focused on work, to the detriment of my training schedule. I squeezed in a swim practice, and a bike ride and a run around my neighborhood, but mostly the pages of my training log are blank. Now that the September appellate-court crunch has subsided, training can become a priority again. I have 1 and 1/3 more sprints to do this season – the Acorn on Oct. 4, and the swim part of the Riverside Sprint on Oct. 12. Realistically, I’m as prepared for these events as I’m going to be. Continued training will help maintain my fitness level, but it won’t make me faster. However, it’s not triathlon training I’m worried about.

I’m also signed up for the Half-Marathon on Nov. 15, and I do need to be building up my endurance for those 13.1 miles. The last time I did a half-marathon (November, 2 years ago), I finished my tri season in July and then focused on running for the next 3 months. That’s not happening this year, and I’m feeling woefully unprepared. Unfortunately, “cramming” for a race doesn’t produce the same benefit as it might for an exam. I’ve heard under-training is better than over-training, and I’m hoping that theory actually works. I don’t have many weekends left that are available for some longer distance runs, i.e., more than the 3-4 miles I’ve been doing. Of course, I never anticipated running the whole thing anyway, so I expect to finish – eventually – even if I walk more than I’d intended. But I’d wanted to beat my previous time, which was just under 3 hours. I’m not feeling anywhere ready to do that.

A Goal Deferred

2008-09-13T18:27:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of this year, when I started this blog, one of my goals was to do an Olympic distance triathlon, most likely the Patriot. I knew it was an ambitious goal, but emboldened by New Year optimism, I believed I could do it. Even into spring and early summer, I still thought doing the Oly was possible. In mid-July, however, as the deadline approached for signing up before the price increased, reality forced me to reconsider. I didn’t feel well enough prepared to tackle the longer distance, and I knew I would not be doing much training in August while I was in Iowa. So, I registered for the Sprint instead.

With no other Oly possible for me this year, the question now is, will I make another attempt next year? Given that my performance seems to be declining with each Sprint I do, I’m doubting I have the stamina for an Oly, even if I were assured of plenty of time to train properly, which I’m not (at least if I’d like to keep my present job, and it pays for my triathlon habit). Wishful thinking will carry me only so far on the Oly track. Since I don’t have to decide yet, though, doing an Olympic can be a goal deferred, rather than one deterred.

Notch No. 4

2008-09-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

The Patriot Sprint on Sept. 7 was my fourth Setup event for this year, so I’ve accomplished my goal of qualifying for an age-group award. As of August 26, having done three sprints, I was ranked 1/10. I’m signed up for a fifth sprint, the Giant Acorn on Oct. 4, so I’m pretty sure I’ll keep my top spot, because I will have done more events than any other woman in the age group. But even if I get relegated to second or third, I will still be within my overall goal.

The Patriot presented a new and different experience. Because of the rain from tropical storm Hanna on Sept. 6, the swim was canceled. Instead, we ran what we were told was a 1.25 mile loop around the event site. According to my Garmin, however, it was longer than that, and the web page for the event now says it was 1.5 miles. Considering the trek to the transition area, my time of 18:11 for the first leg was okay.

The bike ride was mostly on Route 5; while I didn’t like being so close to speeding cars, I felt more confident on my bike than in past events, and even passed a few riders. My time of 58:23 was slower than I expected for 12 miles; but, again, there was some discrepancy on the actual distance. Both 12 and 13 miles were mentioned in the pre-race briefing, my odometer showed 13, and I heard two other riders say their odometers registered 14 miles. So, I’d like to think I rode more than 12 miles – otherwise, somewhere on the course I must have stopped and taken a nap, and don’t remember doing it!

We finished with a 5K run on the Colonial Parkway. I set a new personal low for slowness on the run, and my overall time was a disappointing 2:07.40. Even so, I got a nice bottle of wine and a glass for finishing 2/2 in my age group.

bfitbdone

2008-08-25T17:59:00.000-07:00

At about 6:30 p.m. tonight, 108 hours after I began, I completed my birthday fitness challenge. I’m glad I did it, but I’m more relieved that it’s finished. Although, in round numbers, it took only 12 total hours for all three components (1/2 hour run, 5 ½ hours bike, and 6 hours swim), I feel like I’ve done nothing but this challenge for the past 5 days. I could have stuck to my original plan to spread it out over the whole week and do shorter distances each day, but once I got started, I decided it was, afterall, supposed to be a challenge, so I aimed to increase my work-outs and do it in 5 days to make it as demanding as practicable for me. I learned from doing this challenge that I can push myself to do greater distances, but I’m happy I don’t have to maintain this same schedule as my regular training plan.

bfit update

2008-08-24T14:27:00.000-07:00

Since my last report (48 hours ago), I’ve completed the bike part and swum 2.5 more miles, which just leaves 2 miles of swimming to do in the next 3 days. The challenge has gone better than I thought it might. After a one-half mile swim at ACAC Saturday morning, I rode my bike 36 miles at WC in increments of 14, 12, and 10 miles, stopping for water and a snack after each segment. Then for a change of scenery, I did the final 12 miles around my neighborhood after lunch. I had thought about stopping after 26 miles and finishing the bike ride on Sunday, but I decided I wanted to do the whole ride in 24 hours, which meant I had to finish by 6 p.m. Saturday evening. Other than a sore seat and tight shoulders, I felt okay after the ride. Since I didn’t get a second swim in on Saturday, I did 2 miles on Sunday – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Since I usually don’t swim this distance all at once, I was surprised that it was so doable, although I certainly wasn’t setting any records for speedy laps. I plan to do another mile of swimming Monday morning before work and the final mile Monday evening, unless possible thunderstorms close the pool. If that happens, I'll finish on Tuesday, but I'd really like to be done with this challenge sooner rather than later. Next year I think I’ll make up my own version – 6 miles of running, 3 miles of swimming, and 18 miles of biking, to be done over 2 days.

bdaybfitbgun

2008-08-22T18:27:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I began the birthday bfit challenge. So far, I’ve run the required 2 miles, swam 1.5 miles and biked 14 miles. That leaves 4.5 miles to swim and 48 miles to bike in the next 5 days. Barring unforeseen events, I’m thinking I will be able to do this.

My Life Story in Six Words

2008-08-09T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last week a blogger I know challenged her readers to write their "bios" in six words. I'd been mulling this over for a few days, but six pithy words kept eluding me, until this morning when I was biking at WC. The six words that best describe my life: Set goal. Make it happen. Repeat.

When I was in high school, I wanted to be editor of the yearbook. The faculty sponsor taught typing, and she chose the yearbook staff from her best students. So, in my junior year, I took typing. I secured a place as a junior assistant on the yearbook staff that year, and I was chosen as editor for the next year.

When I decided to go to law school, I was determined to make the Law Review. Although my first year grades weren't good enough to be eligible (moving a 10-year-old 100 miles away from her friends into a new environment did not make for a home life conducive to study), I persevered. By the time I was in my third (and final) year, I'd earned a position on the Law Review staff and even had a small article published.

When I started doing triathlons, my goal was simply to finish the event. Then I started trying to improve my times, and I'm still working on that. I'm also considering doing a longer distance race. It didn't happen this year, but the possibility gives me something to work toward.

Birthday Fitness Challenge Ahead, Maybe

2008-08-05T18:37:00.000-07:00

My birthday is later this month. Since it’s one of the “milestone” years (like being old enough to vote or to drink legally), I’ve been thinking of how best to mark the occasion of being old enough to start collecting early Social Security (at a reduced rate, and if I weren’t still fully employed). Several of the TGs have done the birthday fitness challenge – swimming, biking and running various distances based on their ages. For example, a 26-year-old would swim 2 miles, bike 26 miles, and run 6 miles – all in the same day for gold, in three days for silver, or one week for bronze. If I were 26, or even 46, I’d do this challenge without a second thought. But I’m going to be 62 – that’s 2 miles of running, 6 miles of swimming, and 62 miles of biking. Certainly, I won’t be going for gold or silver, but I am contemplating trying for bronze.

The run will be the only part I’ll be able to do all at one time. The swimming and biking parts will have to be done in segments, and I’ve been trying to plan a schedule for them. That I’ll be in Iowa the week before my birthday complicates the planning, as that means the next week will be hectic at work. Swimming a minimum of one mile per day for six days should be doable, even if I have to break it up into ½-mile chunks – one in the morning and another one at night.

The bike ride is a whole other matter. Timewise, I won’t be able to divide it into five or six short rides during the week. The most efficacious plan would be to do it in two days, on the weekend after my birthday on Friday. That means 32 miles on Saturday and 30 miles on Sunday – a daunting endeavor, since, to date, I’ve never ridden more than 20 miles at one time. A more practical plan would be one 14-mile ride and two rides of 24 miles each, which I can manage, if I can find a third day to ride during the week.

After I finish the challenge, or attempt to, I’m celebrating with a lemon drop martini, or maybe two since it’s a special occasion.

Geese Speed

2008-08-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

As I rode down the FB hill at WC on my bike last Saturday morning, I saw the ubiquitous flock of geese that inhabit the area around the lake. Now, I hate those geese. In fact, due to a bad encounter with a mean rooster when I was 3, I hate anything with feathers, from a turkey buzzard to a parakeet. I don’t even like feather boas. Coach G. was riding beside me. As soon as I saw the geese, I said, “I’ve got to go as fast as I can,” and I took off, pedaling furiously until I was well past the offending creatures. (I later explained my sudden departure to G.) I had so much momentum, I practically coasted up the next incline. It was an amazing sensation to go that fast. I’d like to be able to do it again – sans geese, of course.

Team Work

2008-07-30T19:17:00.000-07:00

It began with a random lunchtime conversation. I jokingly suggested we should have an office triathlon relay team. Immediately, one co-worker said “I’ll bike,” another volunteered to run, and I said, “that leaves the swim for me.” Then, because my co-workers were actually interested in this idea, I told them there would be a sprint triathlon in Richmond in October that we could do. I gave them some details on logistics, and plenty of opportunity to change their minds about participating, but they both insisted they wanted to do it. So, our team of “Running from the Law” has been born.

Bele Chere

2008-07-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 26, I ran the fastest 5K I’ve ever run. While this in itself is a rather remarkable accomplishment, it’s actually fairly amazing, considering the course had “a few moderate hills.” When my younger sister JJ suggested I join her for the Bele Chere 5K in Asheville, NC, she promised me a fun run, but she lied about the terrain. (She explained later she was afraid I wouldn’t do it if she told me the truth.) I had expected some hills, of course, because the race was in Asheville, but I wasn’t prepared for a “roller coaster” running adventure, beginning with the first hill just around the corner from the starting line. Up and down; momentary flat; up, up, and down; more of the same for 3.1 miles. Sometimes I thought about bike riding while I ran, as I tried to visualize my feet shifting gears to create momentum. Mostly, though, I heeded my sister’s alternating words of encouragement and admonition, as she raced ahead and jogged in place while she waited for me to catch up. Then we crested the final hill and sped toward the finish line for a time of 36:44. Since that was a PR for me, I was happy with the result, even though I was 9/13 in my age group. JJ has now decided she needs to be my personal on-site running coach, so she’s thinking about doing the Richmond Half-Marathon with me in November.

3Sports Sprint

2008-07-20T19:32:00.000-07:00

Today was my seventh triathlon on the Shady Grove course. (I did my first one here in 2004). On the plus side – my swim time was a PR for this event (Thanks, Coach AC!), and my bike time was also a PR.

However, on the minus side – I was beat by the heat on the run. Buoyed by my performance in recent workouts, I was hoping for a PR on the run, too; but I’d done those runs in the mornings, when it was 20 degrees cooler. Today, the hot, humid air was like a giant straw that slurped my energy down to the last bubble in the glass. I walked more than I ran, and my time for the 5K was abysmal, probably my slowest ever since I started doing triathlons.

But I finished, another event done toward my goal. Next up is the Patriot Sprint in about six weeks. The weather for last year’s Patriot was hot, so I plan to be ready for more of the same.

RAGBRAI

2008-07-15T19:53:00.000-07:00

The Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa starts Sunday, July 20. This event is in its 36th year. Bikers begin the ride by dipping their rear wheels in the Missouri River on the western side of Iowa and end it one week later when they dip their front wheels in the Mississippi River on the eastern side of the state. Although you can drive straight across Iowa on I-80 in about four hours, the Ragbrai route meanders along country roads and includes plenty of hills. (Yes, Iowa has hills!). The average daily ride is about 70 miles. One day of the week includes an extra loop for those bikers wanting to do a century ride. The route alternates annually between the northern and southern parts of Iowa. This year it passes within four miles of my parents’ farm.

For years I’ve hankered to participate in Ragbrai. My sister-in-law has done it several times, riding a recumbent bike. Riders are chosen by lottery, and entries for the week long ride are capped at 8500. An additional 1500 riders are allowed to ride each day for a single day, or part of a day. If I were in Iowa on Sunday morning, I could pedal my bike to where county road M16 meets Tamarack Trail, ride some miles with the Ragbrai group, and call my dad to pick me up in his truck when we stopped for lunch in a neighboring town. But I’m signed up to do the 3Sport Sprint, so Ragbrai will stay on my list of things I’d like to do for another year.

Sunday on the Trail with T&B

2008-07-13T16:05:00.000-07:00

My usual Sunday morning routine is to “sleep in,” which means I get up about 7 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m., make a pot of coffee and read the paper. After I’ve perused the ads and worked the puzzles, I’m ready to take on the rest of my day. At 7 a.m. this morning, however, I was at the entrance to the Buttermilk Trail, ready to begin the 7.5-mile loop with my “play pals” T&B.

We hadn’t gone far when I realized I needed to take off my sunglasses because it was dark in the woods! Then a piece broke off T’s fuel belt so that it didn’t fit properly around her waist, and B. graciously agreed to carry the belt for her, as it did fit him. These adjustments behind us, we scurried along the trail, occasionally stopping to let some bikers pass. As we reached the Boulevard bridge, we saw several police cars and wondered if there had been another incident like the one last week on Belle Isle. Apparently, however, the problem was that a biker had been stopped for riding his bike across the footbridge rather than on the road. T. sped across the bridge, with B. and I several lengths behind. We regrouped on the other side and continued on the trail.

The trail seemed rockier than the last time I’d been on it, about two months ago. Trail running is supposed to be easier on the body because dirt is softer than concrete or pavement. But several miles of clambering up and down rocks, and dodging exposed tree roots, made me question just how much “easier” it really is! (Particularly as I made one spectacular descent – feet sliding and arms flailing.) Running on shady trails, for the most part, is cooler than running on roads and sidewalks, a fact we appreciated as the humidity increased.

Crossing the bridge onto Belle Isle, B. raced ahead, no doubt feeling much lighter on his feet because all the water bottles he’d been carrying were nearly empty. We completed the run in less than two hours. This was nine minutes faster than last time for me, a result worth the change in my routine.

My Strategy May Be Working

2008-07-10T20:25:00.000-07:00

My plan to earn a Setup Events Age Group Award hinges on doing more events than anyone else in my age group. After one event, I was ranked 7/7, but after two, I’m now 2/9. The woman in first place has also done two events, and she’s speedier than I am, so if she does two more events (it takes at least four to qualify for an award), she’ll stay ahead of me. If any of the women ranked below me now, who’ve each done one event, did more events, they could move up, too, because judging by their times for the events they did, they’re also faster than I am. My third event in this series will be the 3Sports Sprint at Shady Grove on July 20, and I’m considering either the Patriot in September or the “Big Nut” in October, or maybe both for good measure.

Knowing When to Say When

2008-07-10T20:23:00.000-07:00

Fearless Fourteen by J. Evanovitch, the latest volume in the Stephanie Plum, Bounty Hunter mystery series, has been published. A friend told me about these books several years ago, and every summer I read the newest one. Some are more entertaining than others, and the more recent books are not as good as the earlier ones. Another friend, who also has read them all, remarked that someone should tell the author it’s time to stop – Stephanie should give up the bounty hunter business, and Ranger, and settle down in the Burg with Joe.

But I imagine it would be hard for JE to let go of the fictional characters that populate her books, just as it would be hard for me now to quit doing triathlons. A physical injury certainly would hamper my participation; but short of that, will I know it’s time to stop? I do not want to become a caricature of a triathlete, someone whose name on the registration list makes the race director, as well as other competitors, grimace and groan. I don’t think I’m quite there yet, but when it happens, I’m counting on a kind friend or teammate to say “Enough.”

Taking Stock

2008-07-04T19:41:00.000-07:00

I like to keep track of things in my life, from how many days until I could retire from my job (546) to how many dimes I’ve saved in a jar on my dresser (690). I know that so far this year I’ve read 21 books (of which People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks was the best), seen 3 movies, and written 28 blog entries. I’ve also swum 51,000 yards, or nearly 29 miles; biked 106 miles (plus 43 hours of indoor cycling); run 147 miles, attended 37 strength training sessions, and completed in 2 and 1/3 triathlons. In the same period last year, I swam 28,000 yards, or almost 16 miles, biked 64 miles, ran 130 miles, went to strength training 44 times, and did one triathlon. My numbers for 2006 are comparable. Triathletes who train at a much higher intensity than I do would have logged many more miles in the same time frame, of course, so my stats are meaningful only to me. They show consistency in my training routine and help me stay motivated. However, even though I feel like I have more stamina, maybe even slightly more confidence in my ability to do more than sprints, I’m not getting any faster. Perhaps, given the maxim that age slows us down, I should be glad I simply can maintain my times.

We Did It!

2008-06-29T15:13:00.000-07:00

Remember in my last post I said I always leave behind something I really need – this time it was my wetsuit! When I left for Iowa a week before the race, the swim had been cancelled due to flooding at the original site, so I decided not to take my wetsuit. I thought about packing it, “just in case,” but I didn’t really think I would need it. To my great dismay, however, I learned on Thursday (6/19) that the swim had been reinstated and the water temperature in the lake we would swim in was 73º. I wasn’t sure I could complete the swim without a wetsuit, and I was devastated that our sister relay would fail because of me. On Friday, I located a dive shop in Des Moines (a 2-hour trip from my parents’ farm) that had wetsuits for sale for $127.95 and I was prepared to buy one when we went to DM on Saturday to attend the mandatory race briefing and pick up our packets, as I was having no luck finding one to rent and figured it would be better than none. At the race expo, however, I did find a wetsuit for rent ($50 plus tax and cost to return), which put some gloss back on my attitude.

Because the race had been moved from its original location, and then revamped again to include the swim, there were two transition areas – the first at the swim site where the bike course started, and the second at the run site where the bike course ended. Bikes had to be racked at T1 on Saturday night, and the age group solo competitors also had to take their running shoes, etc. to T2. Neither site had any parking, so athletes were to park on race day at a shopping mall several miles away and ride busses to the swim venue for body marking and chip pick-up. Then they would be transported back to the mall from the run venue after the event ended.

This plan worked fine for everyone but the relay team runners, as the swim and run sites were 2+ miles apart and there was miscommunication about getting from one site to the other. One race official said on Saturday there would be no shuttle bus between them, and another official said there would be. An email was sent Saturday night to all participants clarifying the bus schedule, but we didn’t see the message, so my sisters and I all went to the swim venue. Then JJ, who was our runner, had to take the bus back to the mall, drive to the office park from which spectators and relay runners were being transported, and take another bus to the run site. She was not happy about this. She was even less happy when the bus stopped 15 blocks from the site because the roads were closed for the race and all the passengers had to walk the rest of the way. JJ can be quite feisty when she’s upset. Overhearing her tirade when told she could not open a gate to cross and had to walk around to the other end of the fence to enter T2, a volunteer immediately commandeered a golf cart and drove her to where she needed to be. JJ did remember to thank the volunteer.

Meanwhile, I was getting ready for the swim, which started at 6 a.m. The relay swimmers, about 150 of us, were in the third wave. The water temperature was 75º. I didn’t feel as chilly when I entered the water as I had at Yorktown, but it was still hard at first to get any rhythm in my stroke. I concentrated on swimming from buoy to buoy, and I cheered myself on by occasionally rolling onto to my back to see how far I’d progressed since the last buoy. My swim time was 48:55, which was eleven minutes less than the hour I’d allotted myself and five minutes faster than my one practice swim at the JCC pool.

T1 went smoothly. JB had been wearing her helmet since 4 a.m. so she wouldn’t forget to put it on. I gave her the chip and she took off. I’d planned to walk to the run site, but JB’s husband had driven to the swim site (even though spectators had been discouraged from doing so), and he gave me a ride. This, of course, inflamed JJ and made her recounting of her own trip to the site even more animated.

We had expected JB to ride the course in 1½ - 2 hours. When that time passed and she wasn’t there yet, we began to worry. We hadn’t been able to drive the course on Saturday because there were youth triathlon events that day that used much of the same routes, so all the roads were closed. Returning bikers had reported the course was very windy and had a rather steep hill in the beginning. We also heard there had been an accident, but a race official assured us we would have been notified if JB had been involved, so we continued to wait and I nibbled a few more fingernails. Finally, I saw her approaching the dismount line; her time – 2:12:05.

Another chip transfer and JJ was off on the run. JB, her husband, and I waited for JJ near the finish line. After we’d been there awhile, I noticed JB was still wearing her bike helmet! JJ did the run in 1:12:12. She would have been faster but she stopped at every water stop to pour two cups of water on herself plus drink one because she was so hot in the official race shirt I’d told her to wear. I’d read on the race website that participants were encouraged to wear their shirts, and it seemed like a nice “tech” shirt, but according to JJ, it didn’t “breathe” properly. Her favorite line from Talladega Nights – “Sweet Baby J----!” – and her desire not to let the team down kept her going.

Our total time was 4:17:27. I’d predicted we’d do it in between 4 and 4½ hours, so we were pleased, and I was especially proud of my sisters for participating. By the next day, they were almost willing to do it again.

A final highlight. While we waited for JJ to complete the run, JB and I were interviewed by a reporter for the Des Moines Register. The lower front page of Monday’s paper carried this blurb under the topic heading “More triathlon coverage” – “Family Effort: Three sisters who grew up in Hancock, [our names and ages], teamed up to complete the amateur portion of the Hy-Vee Triathlon on Sunday.”

On to Iowa

2008-06-15T04:54:00.000-07:00

The flood waters are receding, and we're leaving for Iowa in the morning. I'm not good at packing -- I always take too much stuff, and forget something I really need, so packing for this trip is a particular chore. I have a checklist, but there are a lot of variables in getting ready for an event out of town and a week away -- a week that will be spent on the farm answering my parents' questions, "What is this thing you're doing?" and "Why are you doing this?" and
"You drove 1200 miles to ride a bike and run around Des Moines?" It's a very good thing I don't have to explain an IM to them!

Change in Plan

2008-06-13T15:47:00.000-07:00

For months I’ve been planning to do the Hy-Vee olympic triathlon with my sisters, and I was supposed to leave for Iowa early next week. But due to the severe flooding in and around the area in Des Moines where the triathlon was to be held, the event has been moved to a higher and drier part of the city and there will be no swim. The event now will consist of a 10K run, 24-mile bike ride, and 5K run. I think I will do the first run, but that, too, could change. My sister JJ, who lives in NC and was going to drive with me, is having second thoughts about going at all – she thinks the change in the tri course, plus the flooding, is a “sign” we should stay home. Although I can understand her concerns, I don’t want to cancel all our plans unless absolutely necessary, so I’m hoping conditions improve soon.

no. 2, on the way to 4

2008-06-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

On Sunday (6/8) I did the Yorktown Sprint, my second Setup event in my quest to earn an age group award for 2008 (of course, I'm currently 7/7, but now that I've done 2 events and the other six women have only done 1 each, I'm hoping my standing will improve). The sprint featured a 650 meter open water swim in the York River, a mostly shady and flat 12-mile bike ride, and a hot 3.1 mile run. Because the air temperature at 4:30 a.m. was 78-80 degrees and the water temperature was 76-78 degrees, I opted not to wear my wet suit, as did most of the other 500+ competitors. But the water did feel a little chilly when we first entered, and I had a hard time catching my breath when I tried to put my face in. I swam at least the first 100-150 meters with my face out of the water before I found a comfortable stroke to get me through the swim part. One of the reasons I chose to do this event was to get some open water swim practice before Hy-Vee on 6/22. I think for that one I'm wearing my wet suit.

The bike ride went well -- I was prepared for the small hill at the beginning of the course, managed to pass a few people en route, and didn't fall off at the dismount. When I started the run, the temperature must have been at least 90 and I was grateful for the ice in the tiny cooler that I had with me in transition. I grabbed my hat and my race number and took off. About 1/4 mile down the road I realized I was still wearing the shoes I'd biked in! I guess I hadn't noticed this before because I hadn't worn my shoes with clips. Anyway, it was too hot to go back and change shoes, so I just kept going and did more walking than running. The real downside, however, was that I ended up with some painful blisters on my feet. I finished in 2:01:15 -- 76 seconds slower than I'd hoped for. I got a lovely paperweight for being 2nd in my age group (or, stated differently, because there were only 2 of us, last in my age group!). The woman who took 1st had a slower swim time than I did, but a faster bike time, and we were about the same on the run. I have to wonder if I'd remembered to put on my running shoes if I could have done better, but I did manage a negative split.

Fun, Not Fear

2008-05-31T17:20:00.000-07:00

I spent last weekend in North Carolina with my two sisters, one brother-in-law, one niece, and two big dogs. Aside from dealing with a leaky water heater, we had a wonderful time. I successfully defended my title as “Sister Scrabble Champion,” despite a strong challenge from my baby sister. I even did some “training” – if you count walking the dogs on the beach and riding a one-speed, coaster-brake bike around town.

I did do one amazing thing, however. I went parasailing with my niece. Harnessed to a parachute that was pulled by a motorboat, we drifted 800 feet (we were told that’s equivalent to a 30-story building) above the coastline for 10-12 minutes. The feeling of floating in the sky was fantastic. Of course, there was a moment of near panic as we ascended, when I realized the boat was a long, long way down and I hadn’t asked what to do in case of emergency if we needed to come down immediately. But since there was nothing to do but hang on to the harness strap, I decided I might as well enjoy the ride. As we descended, we dropped into a sea of swirling jellyfish (the captain said they weren’t the stinging kind). Then we were pulled onto the boat and returned to shore via a banana boat. What an adventure!

So, if I can parasail without trepidation, why can’t I ride my bike with both feet clipped into the pedals? For that matter, why does starting off with only one foot clipped in make me feel like I’m taking my first unsteady ride without training wheels? Climbing onto my bike has become a test of fortitude. I’m okay while I’m riding, but I’m terrified to stop because I fear falling off and seriously hurting myself. The three hairy cats that share my house would not make particularly handy nursemaids.

This morning’s ride at WC started fine. After two loops, I stopped at the parking lot for water. Hurray, no problem! I decided to practice some “stops.” One “almost fall” later, the chain on my bike got twisted. As I stopped, with my left foot not clipped in and on the ground, I toppled over on my right side with that foot still clipped in.

The only outward damage was a skinned knee. I got back on the bike, but my confidence was gone. Fear is a powerful glue. I simply could not lift both feet off the ground onto the pedals at the same time. I wanted to put the bike in the car and not get on it again until indoor cycling begins. But I’m supposed to do the Yorktown Sprint next Sunday, so I knew I had to deal then and there with my fear.

I changed into regular street shoes. Riding with the heels jammed against the pedals, I managed two short loops (between the parking lot and the FB entrance) and stopped without incident.

I couldn’t tell any difference in effort or speed riding clips v. no clips. Now I’m wondering if I should put regular pedals back on my bike as long as I’m riding it on the road. I want to feel as comfortable riding this bike as I did riding last week’s beach cruiser. Surely a more relaxed attitude will compensate for any perceived lack of efficiency. My new mantra – fun, not fear.

Pressure

2008-05-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Now that I've announced the existence of this blog to the TGs, I'm feeling obligated, or maybe even compelled, to produce entries, and especially ones that people might think were interesting enough to read. In the words of a country song I like, "what was I thinking?!"

And to completely change the subject, one month from today is the HY-Vee Tri. I don't think I'm nearly ready for the swim part. I have yet to swim the distance required (.9 mile). I've done .8 twice, but never seem to have time to do more. I'm getting worried I won't be acclimated to the distance for the tri, and what I'm hearing in my head with each stroke is "what was I thinking?!"

New Toys

2008-05-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

I have a wetsuit now, complete w/ TG logo, which I got on a great sale from Fit2Race. I'm not sure it fits right, though. When I ordered it, I gave them my measurements and took the size they said I should have. It was incredibly hard to get on, which the directions say means that it probably fits. Another marker of proper fit is whether you can "pinch" a bit of material in the arms and thighs once the suit is on, and if you can't, it's probably too small. I can do that in the arms, but not the thighs (oh, rue my misproportioned body!), so I'm debating whether to keep it or exchange it.

I have new trail running shoes, too. I'd intended to get a pair on sale, but they weren't as comfortable as the non-sale shoes, so I paid full price for a pair of La Sportiva Fireblades. According to the box, they were a Runners World choice in 2007. I've been wearing them some around the house before I try them on a trail.

I also have a new digital camera. It's not either of the models I originally thought I wanted, but the price was right for the features (do you sense a theme in the way I buy things?). An amazing thing to me about the purchase was that I saved $30 simply by ordering it online and then going to the local store to pick it up, instead of going to the store, taking it off the shelf and paying full price.

Finally, for Mother's Day my son and daughter-in-law gave me some family tree computer software. I'd been impressed with their set when I was in Florida in April, and I'm looking forward to having time to play with it myself.

Run Like A Girl

2008-05-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

On May 4 I did the 5-mile trail run at Pocohantas State Park, which was part of the Run Like A Gril Series sponsored by Montrail. There were 300+ participants in this women-only event, ranging in age from 7 to 70. Point of reference -- I was faster than the 7-year-old, but not faster than the 70-year-old, who finished in about 45 minutes! The trail was generally a smooth track, but there were some fairly challenging hills -- most of which I walked up and tried not to slide down. Fellow TG TB, an accomplished trail runner, ran with me. She stayed on my case, ever urging me onward, and not listening when I said, "but I'm going as fast as I can!" TG TD also ran with us. We all used to run together twice a week after strength training at MMF, so it was good to have the group back together again. The entire event was great fun, and the swag was terrific -- nice tech shirt, socks, cap, and water bottle, plus some tasty chocolate-raspberry Luna bars. I definitely see more trail runs in my future.

Catching Up

2008-05-03T18:27:00.000-07:00

What have I been doing since my last entry? I took my purebred Himalayan cat to a professional groomer – she looks much better, but she’s been living under my bed for two weeks now because whenever she ventures out, my two shorthair domestic cats hiss at her. She’s been groomed before, without any adjustment traumas, so I have no idea what happened this time. Perhaps I need a Cat Whisperer.

I went to Florida to visit my son and his wife, who were temporarily back in the US from his job overseas. We had a wonderful time – ate great seafood and mango key lime pie, went to an art show and the beach, and did a 5K race. The run was out and back over the causeway (I mistakenly called it a “bridge” and was corrected by a transplanted NOVA retiree). The temperature was warmer than I’m used to yet and I could have used another water stop at mile 2.75, so the last mile was slower than I’d hoped it would be. I finished in 39:01, which is not a PR for a 5K, but is the best I’ve done so far this year. The times for my age group ranged from 28:33 to 57:17, and I was 8 out of 24. There was fantastic fresh fruit at the end, along with sandwich fixings, granola bars, chips, and water. The best part, though, was running w/ my son.

I also tried out a wet suit in their pool. (I know that’s not recommended procedure, but I wasn’t in the water all that long). The pool temperature was 72, and even w/ the wet suit on, I felt chilly when I first got in. I had no problem swimming in it, but getting it on and off was a struggle. Any improvement in my swim time from wearing a wet suit will no doubt be cancelled by the increase in my T1 time unless I just do the whole tri in my wet suit!

Finally, I’ve been shopping for a digital camera. I’ve found several I like, but I’m having a hard time deciding which one to buy. The current frontrunners are two Canon models and a Panasonic. I’ve studied the specs, read all kinds of reviews, solicited other people’s advice/opinions, and made numerous trips to different stores to check them out, but nothing has said “buy me” yet. Of course, the point of having a new camera was that I wanted to add some pictures to this blog, but I wasn't able to figure out how to use some in this entry that my daughter-in-law sent me, so it may be a moot point!

where's the motivation?

2008-04-12T12:18:00.000-07:00

I seem to be lacking motivation for training this week. At first, I thought it was post-event let down from doing the sprint and 10K back-to-back, and I figured I was entitled to some recovery time. But it's been a week now, and I've not done much. Swim practice on Monday was devoted to flip turns, or in my case, trying to learn how to do them. Let's just say, I spent the entire hour in the remedial lane. Tuesday was strength training and indoor cycling, and I managed a short swim on Wednesday. I alternated 100 yard intervals with flip turn attempts, and a few times I felt like I almost did one. Thursday was more cycling. I skipped 30 minutes of strength training so I could shop for a digital camera. I'd considered swimming on Friday, but slept in instead. Today I volunteered for a duathlon. I'd planned to run afterwards at the same site, but it rained and I opted to come home for warm, dry clothes. Then my sister called me, the knob fell off my kitchen door, the litter box needed cleaning, I decided to go online for awhile -- it's not likely I'll get that run in today, as I feel my energy level sliding past zero. Maybe tomorrow ... ?

The 10K

2008-04-06T19:24:00.000-07:00

I did the Monument Avenue 10K with my younger sister JJ and my daughter. Despite the on-off rain, we enjoyed the event. My time was 4 minutes slower than last year, but I still finished in the top 20% of my age group, so I'm trying not be too disappointed with the result. I was faster than I'd been in my solo practice runs, no doubt due to the "run faster, faster" exhortations with which my two companions propelled me across the finish line. My sister can walk faster than I can "run." At her own pace, she would have had a much better time, but she never let herself get too far ahead of me. My daughter left us at the halfway point, but waited at the 6-mile marker so we could all cross the finish line together. I'm hoping the photo will be spectacular.

One Done

2008-04-06T18:55:00.000-07:00

On March 28 I did the Smithfield Sprint -- my first triathlon for 2008 and the first event in my quest for a Setup Events age group award. Nearly 500 competitors were registered, 3 in my age group. Since the swim was in a pool, and swimmers were spaced 15 seconds apart, it took nearly 3 hours to get everyone thru that phase. The elite athletes completed the whole tri before I even got in the pool! I entertained myself watching the other swimmers and spectators, at least to the extent I could see them. I'd had to leave my eyeglasses in the transition area so I'd have them for the bike, and transition closed at 9:45 a.m. I do have swim goggles with corrective lenses, which aren't my exact prescription but are close enough for distance viewing. Think generic reading glasses you can buy at the drug store. However, someone wearing goggles for several hours while staying outside the pool tends to attract some puzzled looks from other bystanders, so I only occasionally put them on while I waited.

Then it was my turn. The water was warm and the lanes were wide. The person behind me touched my feet several times, but she refused my offers to go ahead when we reached the ends of the lanes. And once as I approached the wall to turn, I saw another person swimming directly underneath me. He was soon gone, but at that instant, I felt like a fish in an aquarium. There was no ladder nearby at the end of the swim but I managed to heave myself out of the pool with some measure of grace and ehaded toward the transition area to get my bike.

I'm always slow in T1 because my goggles steam up and I can't see very well where I'm going. I don't want to fall down or run into anyone. I've tried leaving my glasses poolside, but ithere often is no good place to put them and it takes too long to find them. Plus they steam up, too. T1 took longer than usual because it was chilly and windy, and extra clothes were required. I'd seen one guy on his bike in just his swim trunks, but everyone else I saw was more warmly dressed.

The 10-miles bike course was fairly flat with only a few curves and small hills. Thanks to four months of indoor cycling and "power repeats" I managed to get up the hills without downshifting to "granny gear." The course didn't seem as intimidating as it had the night before when I'd driven it in my car, thinking "why is it I do this?" And if there had been less wind, the ride would have been quite pleasant. My time for the bike was 44:43, an average of 13-14 mph. I would have like to have been faster, but since this was my first ride sans trainer since last fall, and I dismounted without falling, I felt okay about it. I'm close to phobic about falling because I've taken some nasty spills.

The weather had improved somewhat by the time I got to the run segment at 1 p.m. My legs didn't feel like total bricks and I maintained my usual average pace of 13 minutes per mile for the 5K. I even did a negative split.

My total time was 1:42:48, which put me third in my age group. The first place finisher's time was 1:21:34, and second place was 1:39:48. I had faster bike and run times than no. 2, but she was faster in transition. We all got the same prizes, though -- a small thermos. It was a good way to start the season.

Changing the Team

2008-03-16T17:57:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I registered one of my sisters and I as a relay team for the Hy-Vee Tri. My other sister has decided now she wants to participate, too, and she's offered to do the bike part. When I'd mentioned it to her before, she said she had to work (she's a nurse), but she's found someone to take her shift. She has ridden a bike 24 miles before, but she's a triathlon novice (for that matter, so's my other sister, but I think it's easier to be a "newbie" on the run). I'm concerned that she doesn't really understand what she's getting into. It's not like we're intending to win any prizes, but I don't want her to be overwhelmed by the event. And, anyway, assuming she can join us now, I have mixed feelings about changing the team. On one hand, to date, I've not ridden more than 18 miles at one time, but I'd figured I'd be ready for 24 by June. Also, having only the swim to concentrate on would not be a bad thing, because I'm still getting used to the Oly distance (.9 mile). I'd wanted to use this event as a precursor to doing a complete Oly by myself in September. Will doing only the swim be enough of a test? But, then, doing the tri with both my sisters would be special. We live in three different states and don't all get together but once, maybe twice, a year. Our recent gatherings have been shadowed by parental illness, so a sister reunion held just for fun would, indeed, be fun. "The B----y Girls" on a new adventure sounds promising. Here's to Beat-Bun-Uniq!

Inspiration/Aspiration

2008-03-16T17:32:00.000-07:00

A woman I know recently set three records for her age group in a masters swim meet in the 100 free, 200 free, and 100 IM (butterfly, backstroke, breasttroke, , and freestyle). Her times for the 100 and 200 were 50+ seconds faster than the previous records, and there was no existing record for the IM because no one had done it before. This woman is 95 years old! She plans to keep on swimming as long as she's able and can drive herself to the pool. She also goes to work everyday at the family business. We used to swim at the same pool, but then she moved to a different part of town and a different pool. Year for year, she's a better swimmer than I am. What inspires me most about this woman, though, is her attitude. I am similarly inspired by another 92-year-old swimmer I know, who logs one-half mile per swim several times a week. And, of course, there's a fellow triathlete who started doing triathlons in her 60s and still competes at age 82.

I aspire to age as well as these women. But it's hard when I see little progress in my training. I feel stronger, but my times are abysmal. And it's depressing when my teammates are lamenting they only managed to run a 9-minute mile, when I'd be happy to do one in 12. Last year I could occasionally manage an 11- minute mile, but these days, it would be a miracle to go that "fast." But I'm keeping at it. Maybe someday I'll set my own record and inspire someone else along the way.

Something to "tri" for

2008-03-05T18:01:00.000-08:00

Our team psychologist recently talked about the importance of setting goals. The essence of his theory is that having too many complex, specific goals creates stress, and fighting stress wastes energy, so a person should set one main goal, with some subparts, that is doable. I see the merit in this principle, even if I do tend sometimes to get bogged down in details. My ex-husband called this tendency "making everything too complicated," but he was a procrastinator par excellence, so .... Anyway, my goal for this season is to earn an age-group award given by Setup Events. To do this, I have to compete in (read, enter and finish) four triathlons in their state series. I've signed up for the first one on 3/29. I anticipate doing one in July and one in September, so that leaves a choice between events in June and October as the fourth one. Either one of those (or both) would likely require a wet suit, which I don't have. I could rent one, or buy one. This is where over-thinking comes in, as I mull the merits of having my own suit v. the expense of buying or renting. Then I have to consider how, even if , my pear dumpling body will fit into one, and if I could get out of it in T1. It might be easier to get Setup to change the rules so that only three events would qualify. From one simple goal to many tangents -- it really is all in the details.